The Demi-Wizards Quest
by BiggestFvckUp
Summary: When Lady Hecate comes to a young Demi-God with a quest to protect the Boy-Who-Lived. He shall accept it and help the Wizarding world from falling into the hands of Voldemort, while still living the life of your average Demi-God can be tough. Demi-God! Draco Malfoy Slight Dumbledore bashing! BAMF! Demi-Gods Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy bashing!
1. The Beginning

**Disclaimer this story is only for entertaining purposes and I own nothing but the plot and timeline placement. All credits go to J.K. Rowling and Rick Riordan.**

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**3rd Person P.O.V.**

All his life have been full of lies. Many people just cast his name aside as a snobby annoying rich kid. They didn't bother to see him, _the real him_, and try to get close... but he's used to it now. They don't matter he learned that throughout his years. He knew what he had to do and why he was here for. His dull grey eyes ran through the room, taking in the silence of the lonely mansion. Lucius and Narcissa where away doing _things_, that he didn't care for. They always left him alone anyways, the only company he had were the house elves, but they where always busy with the mansion to be with him.

He clutched the necklace that had two small beans in it. One was black the other one light blue. He sighed and and looked at the work load his tutor left for him and to the last pice he needs to finish. He missed camp already, he wasn't claimed _yet_, but he can only hope that hopefully in the future he'll be. The only reason he was able to go to camp, was when he was found by a satyr named Leon, when he tried to run away from the mansion. He spend the summer there, but headed back shortly after. Then he discovered that both Lucius and Narcissa didn't noticed he was gone. They where 'busy' and went out of the country to attend to matters at France. After that they told him he'll start his education with different tutors and will have a schedule and vacations like they do in Hogwarts. Most importantly he'll learn the proper ways of pure bloods and how to be an extraordinary heir. Even if he wasn't blood related to them at all, they said it's the least he could do for them for taking him out of that place. He didn't like the idea but hey beggars can't be choosers.

He tsk his tongue and started to work on his work load. The faster he finished the better chance he had to work on controlling his magic and maybe find a way to block his 'ability' or well curse. He needed to try to stop both his magic and curse from acting up when he touched things. He needed to control it before the Malfoy's found out about his "ability." He needed to control it before he hurts somebody again. He can't wear the gloves Chiron helped him to get all the time, their too noticeable, people will think it's weird and they'll know somethings not right with him. He wrote his last sentence on the parchment and putted his quill on the ink sack. He organized his work and left the library.

On his way to the graden he spotted an odd figure sitting on the grass. Their back facing him, he could feel a magical aura coming from the person. He stopped once he was behind them and kneeled. " Lady Hecate, what can I do for you?" He asked. He could imagine the goddess smile as she faces him. "I have a quest for you young Demi-God." Hecate smiled.

oOo

He's quest started the day after, he must protect or get close to Harry Potter and help him get strong until the time comes. When he must face against Voldemort. He was the only Demi-God that had wizard blood within him. He had to do this alone and he'll have to **die** if it means completing it. And alone he shall be... after all who'll care about the 'son' of a death eater?


	2. The Acceptance Letter

3rd Person P.O.V.

Four Year Time Skip*

The young 'Malfoy' was sitting on the manors library doing his share of work. When he heard a little a little pecking sound coming from the window. He glanced at the owl and noticed the letter that the owl was holding. He opened the window and let the owl in giving it a little treat and petting it, while ripping the Hogwarts crest from the letter and reading it.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Mr. Malfoy,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

The second page with requirements says:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

of WHICHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

1.Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2.One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3.One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4.One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)

by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi

by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection

by Quentin Trimble

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring and owl OR a cat OR a toad.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

The young Demi-God has now revived his Hogwarts letter. Lucius wished for him to be Durmstang for 'better education,' but he knew that he just wanted him away from Dumbledore. Luckily Narcissa was able to convince him to let him go to Hogwarts, claiming it was a family tradition and how weird it'll be not to keep it going. In other words let him stay away from prying eyes. Not that he cared it only means that he'll be able to have more access into Harry Potter's life and complete his quest.

He have decided that he'll have to set up an act while he's on Hogwarts. One of the kids from the Hermes cabin back in camp had told him about how some rich kid from his school bullied him, and how much of a daddy's boy he though he was. After some thinking- and Demi-God dreams- the young 'Malfoy' decided that he'll become Harry Potter's 'arch nemesis' while helping him from the sidelines. He thought that if he was going to take a long quest he might as well have fun while doing it. And so our young Demi-God finds himself in Diagon Ally by himself with some Galleons his 'parents' gave him to buy what he needed for his classes in Hogwarts.

He first went to, , and bought a pitch black owl with stunning blue eyes. He decided to name him Eclipse for him dark looks and decided to head to Madam Malkin's for his school robes. He placed his owl in the cart and waited for Madam Malkin's to measure him. After a while he was finally getting measured by some worker when the doorbell rang. He glanced up to notice a scrawny looking boy with wild dark brown hair and broken circle glasses hiding emerald eyes. 'He looks like Percy' he thought. Percy Jackson was the recent camper that has been claimed by Poseidon this summer. He befriended him when he was staying at the Hermes cabin, he told him he was also unclaimed and have been for four years and shared how he found out he was a Demi-God to him. He still hanged out with him when he was claimed and others where distancing themselves from him for being a child of the Big Three. Even after he left to his quest with the Athena child he met once thanks to his new cabin councilor Luke Castestan. He might be younger than Percy by four years, but he was luckily tall for his age making him look 11. When he was actually just 8, but when had Demi-Gods ever cared about age?

Draco snapped out of his mind and tried to make a conversation with the boy. His ADHD couldn't handle being quiet at the presence of someone else. Even if he took a potion to get rid of his dyslexia and ADHD, they couldn't completely take away his ADHD. Which he was glad about.

"Hullo," he greeted, "Hogwarts too?, Draco asked. The boy looked down but answered a mall, "Yes." Draco carefully looked at the boy. He looked at his hair and noticed the lighting shaped scar. 'So this is Harry Potter.' He thought. He took his appearance and noticed the baggy clothes and his lack of baby fat. His Demi-God dreams where right. The-Boy-Who-Lived was somehow abused. He schooled his expression to a poker face, hiding away his slight worry and said, "My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," he lied. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first-years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow." He continued. He needed his bratty attitude to show and make him dislike him. "Have you got your own broom?" He asked perfectly knowing that the boy didn't know anything from the wizarding world.

"No," the boy replied. "Play Quidditch at all?" He asked already knowing the answer. "No," the boy replied again, face crunched up in confusion. "I do – Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?" He asked again. "No," the boy said once again, probably feeling stupid for something he shouldn't. He ignored the tight feeling of guilt in his chest and continued arrogantly. "Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been – imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

The boy made a 'mmm' sound not responding. Draco looked outside and saw Hagrid, the man who probably took The-Boy-Lived out of his abusive home. He had the perfect way to make Harry hate him now. With a mental apology to Hagrid he said, "I say, look at that man!" The boy looked at the window and noticed Hagrid holding two big cones of ice cream. "That's Hagrid," the boy said with a pleased tone. "He works at Hogwarts," he continued. Draco let a fake 'oh' and continued with his plan. "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"

"He's the gamekeeper," The boy said clearly upset with what he said about Hagrid. Draco took noticed and the pang in his chest tightened. "Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of savage – lives in a hut in the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic and ends up setting fire to his bed." He hates himself for what he said, but glanced at Harry and saw him glaring at him. "I think he's brilliant," the boy said coldly. "Do you?" Draco asked with a fake sneer. Draco glanced outside and said, "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?" He asked already knowing the answer. "They're dead," The boy said shortly. Clearly liking him less and less. "Oh, sorry," Draco apologized making sure his tone doesn't seem apologetic. "But they were our kind, weren't they?" He asked. "They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean." The boy answered. "I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?" Draco asked not really expecting an answer seeing as Madam Malkin coming back. "That's you done, my dear," Madam Malkin said. Letting the boy hop of the stool. "Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," Draco said as he watched The Boy-Who-Lived go outside with Hagrid.

Draco waited a bit before he was also finished with his robes. He placed them on the cart with Eclipse payed 7 galleon for his robes and muttered another apology under his breath. He continued with his shopping until the last thing he needed was his wand. He didn't stop at Ollivander's wand shop. Lady Hestia said he'll give him one that's needed of him to use. Even if it didn't suit him at all. With that he gathered everything on his cart and left Diagon Ally.


	3. Hogwarts Express

3rd Person P.O.V.

The days passed and the young Demi-God finally finds himself waiting for Hogwarts Express at Hogsmeade Station. Crabbe and Goyle where next to him, there parents kissing their cheeks and saying goodbye before leaving them alone with him. Lucius said that it was necessary that he has strong bonds with other pure bloods, while at Hogwarts. He though that was bull. Crabbe and Goyle looked around before asking, "Where are your parents?" He stared coldly at them, "They left earlier than expected." That's a lie they didn't come with him because they were 'busy.'

After a while the children outside where now allowed inside the Hogwarts Express. While walking inside searching for a room he started to hear the rumors about Harry Potter being here. He placed a fake smirk once he found them and slid the door facing The-Boy-Who-Lived, "So you're Harry Potter?" He asked already knowing the answer. "Yes," The boy said. "I'm Draco, Draco Malfoy," he introduced himself. He noticed the ginger sitting besides Harry laughing slightly. He instantly recognized him as a Weasley. He faked a sneer, "Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford." Harry alongside Weasley glares at him. "I'll be careful who spend your time with, Potter. You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there," he raised his hand as a form of a handshake. Harry well er- Potter looked up to him and said, "I think I can find the wrong sort myself thank you."

Draco his a smile and deepened his fake sneer and said, "My father will hear about this." Leaving the cupboard. Crabbe and Goyle walking behind him he stopped at an empty cupboard. 'Well' he thought 'May the quest begin.' He smiled a bit and looked outside.

oOo

"Come firs' yers over 'ere," Hagrid said to all the first years. Pointing to the boats alongside the shore. He sat on the boat furthest away from the first years, Crabbe and Goyle sitting in front of him. He glanced behind him and noticed the black skeleton horse and quickly turned back. 'A Thestral,' he thought. Draco glanced around and noticed the other thestral's pulling the boats towards Hogwarts. A breeze memory coming to him. Thestrals are, undeservedly, known as omens of misfortune and aggression by many wizards because they are visible only to those who have witnessed at least once or due to their somewhat grim, gaunt and appearance. He remembers reading about them on Fantastic Beasts.

"Ey. Hey. HEY!" A voice yelled. He snapped out of attention and looked at the person yelling. "Geez, you finally pay attention," a dark skinned boy said. "What do you need?" He asked. The male rolled his eyes and said, "I was asking you if I could sit next to you. All the other boats are already occupied." Draco looked around to see that in fact all the boats where full. "Sure," he said, moving aside for the male to sit. "I'm Blaise, Blaise Zabini." The boy introduced himself. 'Ah a Zabini,' Draco thought. Lucius and Narcissa have always tried to make him interact with the children of other pure bloods. So he have meet Blaise once, but he doesn't know if Blaise remembers him. "I'm Draco," he introduced both Crabbe and Goyle to the male. Fully knowing he didn't say his last name. Besides the glamour Lucius and Narcissa teaches him made him look like a board copy of a younger Lucius. Blaise was going to say something before Hagrid yelled, "wher' 'ere!"


	4. The Sorting

Blaise was going to say something before Hagrid yelled, "wher' 'ere!"

3rd Person P.O.V.

Draco was the first to get out of the boat and followed the first years up the long case of stairs. Once on top Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Draco's first thought was that she reminded him of one of his tutors. His hand rubbing his wrist lightly.

"The firs'-years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

She pulled the door wide. The Entrance Hall was so big you could have fit almost all the camps cabins in there. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.

They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Draco could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right – the rest of the school must already be here – but Professor McGonagall showed the first-years into a small empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room."

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours."

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Her eyes lingered for a moment on some students close to her.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," she said. "Please wait quietly."

She left the chamber.

Draco already knew how they where going to be sorted, he had been told by his 'parents' when he tried asking them questions about his mother years ago.

Then something happened which made him jump about a foot in the air – several people behind him screamed.

"What the –?"

Draco heard someone yelled out. So did the people around him. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to each other and hardly glancing at the first-years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying, "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance –"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost – I say, what are you all doing here?" A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first-years.

Nobody answered.

"New students!"said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them.

"About to be sorted, I suppose?"

A few people nodded mutely.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" the Friar said. "My old house, you know."

"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.

"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first-years, "and follow me."

Feeling oddly as though his legs had turned to lead, Draco followed the first years with Crabbe, Goyle, and Blaise behind him, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

Draco looked around the Great Hall. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles which were floating in mid-air over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the Hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting.

Professor McGonagall led the first-years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Draco looked upwards and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. He could see some of the star constellations from here. It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open on to the heavens.

Draco spaced out he took noticed of his 'godfather' looking straight at Potter and noticed the professor next to him. A bad feeling in his gut told him to weary of him. Once he stopped spacing out he noticed that Dumbledore already said his greeting and payed attention once more Professor McGonagall took out the sorting hat. Once she placed the hat down it started to sing.

"Oh you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Hat can't see,

So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

if you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folks use any means

To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none)

For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

Once the hat finished singing Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause –

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.

The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Draco saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.

"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor and the table on the far left exploded with cheers.

"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. Draco saw the Slytherins clap politely and not start cheering like the other tables.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

After a few other names Draco heard his. "Malfoy, Draco!"

He sigh and went to the stool sitting down, he then felt the hat being placed on his head. 'Ahh, a young Demi-God, it's been ages since I last had one come here.' Draco flinches slightly at the sound of the voice in his head. Being a Demi-God and hearing voices in your head is not a good combination. Slight tales of Chris Rodriguez he heard from other campers popped into his mind. He heard a slight chuckle, 'Do not worry young Malfoy or should I say Black?' He tensed at the sound of his former last name before being adopted by the Malfoy's. 'How did you-' he stopped himself he's the sorting hat of course he'll know, he's inside his head for crying out loud!

The hat laughed a bit once again. 'Indeed I am, I can also hear your thoughts.' Draco blushed a bit in embarrassment before schooling his face to a poker face. 'I see can you sort me into Slytherin?' He asked the hat. 'Hmm but you might be better of in Ravenclaw-' 'No.' Draco interrupted. 'Why not?' The hat asked. 'I need to be close to Harry Potter, I've become his arch rival for my quest to start. Besides I know he needs to feel like a good guy with him probably going into Gryffindor. It might also be how his home life was.' Draco explained. The hat let a small hmm and said, 'Alright then you shall be in-'

"SLYTHERIN!" He yelled.

Draco took off the hat to see everyone looking at him. He looked at Professor McGonagall and gave her the hat. Professor McGonagall snapped out of whatever was going on her mind and continued calling out names.

Draco sat at the end of the Slytherin table, some students where still glancing at him from time to time. He furrowed his brows and asked the student in front of him, "Why is everyone looking at me like that?" He asked. The boy looked at him with a serious expression. "You took 30 minutes to get sorted," The boy revealed. Draco thanked him and glanced at the Gryffindor table. Potter had already been sorted in their and is in sitting next to the Weasley and another girl with bushy hair. He started looking around the Great Hall he noticed the quivering professor with a purple turban looking at Potter with a slight glare. As of noticing someone looking at him the Professor looked up and started at Draco straight in the eye and let out a fake shaky smile. Draco looked away and pretended to seem as if he was talking to the person next to him.

Once he felt the Professors eyes leave him he stared at the table noticing the food placed there. He took some of the things there and noticed the lack of fire. He let out a sigh and mentally apologized to the Gods for not sacrificing some of his food to them.

oOo

After dinner the first years where being taken to their house common rooms. The Slytherins neatly left the Great Hall after all the other rowdy houses left. They Headboy and Headgirl took the first years to the dungeons. After some more walking Draco noticed the constant house colors in display. Then they stopped in front of a portrait of a blacked hair woman. "This is where the common room are. The password is 'Pureblood' if you don't remember it wait until another Slytherin that does know the password opens it up for you." One of the Prefects said. "Also, remember that the password will be changed every two weeks. The new password will be placed on the boards in the common room," the Headboy said. Everyone headed into the common room, emerald green and silver everywhere. There were some green couches close to the fireplace near them. With the staircase heading to the dormitories aside it. "Welcome Slytherins," Draco heard a booming voice come aside them. There he saw his 'godfather' Severus, Severus Snape. "I am Professor Snape, the potions master of Hogwarts, and also the Slytherin's head of house." His cool voice making some first years shiver. "The Main Rules of Slytherin House as found posted in the common room etched into a silver plaque stuck to the wall with a permanent Sticking Charm:

1\. Your House is your family. Family stands together.

2\. The common room does not belong to YOU. It belongs to everyone. Keep it neat.

3\. Arguments with another Slytherin are only permitted in Slytherin House. Refer to the FIRST RULE.

4\. Study time is QUIET time and is mandatory. You will receive schedules on a weekly basis.

5\. NO ONE is allowed to skip House meetings. House Meetings are almost always scheduled.

7\. The Hogwarts House Elfs are not your servants. Keeping your dorm rooms and the common room clean is your responsibility.

8\. Dorm inspections once a month. These are NOT scheduled. You are forewarned.

9\. All meals are mandatory. No sweets in your dorms. No sweets after 8pm. Those taking a Nutrition Potion will come to me or Madame Pomfrey once a week.

10\. Bedtimes: First years - 9pm

Second thru Fourth years - 10pm

Fifth thru Sixth years - 11pm

Seventh years - Midnight

11\. Your House is your family. Family stands together.

These are the rules I expect everyone in Slytherin to follow; to the letter. They are, however, not the only rules. You will discover in your seven years here that I will give you further guidelines and rules that you can take past the walls of Hogwarts.

Finally, never forget the Secret of Slytherin:

Plan in ways a Ravenclaw finds sound

Blend like a Hufflepuff into the background

As for the Gryffindor, learn from their mistakes

And be ready to react, Slytherin, swift as a snake.

Serpens tacitus perspicasis et celeris est." after Professor Snape finished all the torches from the common room lit up completely. "The male dorms are to the left, the female dorms are to the right." He said. "You may choose which ever form you like, and your name will appear on the name plate. You'll receive your schedules once you're all settled. Now if that is all.. I welcome you to the House of Slytherin!"

Aaannndd done! Whew my fingers hurt with all this typing. Well hope you can like this chapter I tried my best getting all the characters personality right. You may leave any pointers here, it's very much appreciated!

-D


	5. Disater at Potions

_"You may choose which ever form you like, and your name will appear on the name plate. You'll receive your schedules once you're all settled. Now if that is all.. I welcome you to the House of Slytherin!"_

___

___

**3rd Person P.O.V.**

Draco choose the dorm farthest from all the students. Of course Crabbe and Goyle tried to follow him, but soon discovered that Draco's room choice already had people inside, so they had to go to another dormitory close to Draco's. Draco sighed in relief, he didn't have to be kept in the watchful eyes of those two idiots. He placed his owl in his chosen bed, giving Eclipse a treat as a sorry for not being able to take him with him on the train.

Someone coughed behind him. He turned around and saw all the guys looking at him, "What?" He asked. The boy he asked a question in The Great Hall was looking at him. "Aren't you gonna introduce yourself?" The boy asked. "Oh right," he fake coughed and said, "My name is Draco, Draco Malfoy, from the noble house of Malfoy." The guys in the room looked at him once more, but this time he saw recognition in their eyes. "Oh, we've met once or twice on the galas your parents had." Draco looked at him with narrowed eyes and forced himself to remember. "Lucas?" He questioned. The black haired male in front of him smiled, "Yup, the one and only!" Lucas ruffled his hair and glanced at him with confusion in his electric blue eyes. "Isn't your hair gelled back..?" Lucas asked. Draco rolled his eyes and said, "I'll never touch any gel with a ten foot pool." The male was still confused. "I used a glamour to make it seem as if it's gelled back," he said. The male's mouth released a small 'oh.'

"Anyways," Draco continued looking at the other guys present. "Do I know you too?" He asked. Everyone nodded. He smiled slightly and pointed at the guy closes to his bed. "Theodore-" He said pointing at the brown haired boy.

He pointed to the dark skinned male, "Blaise-"

he pointed to the other brown haired male, "Marcus-"

"And of course, Lucas," he finished pointing to the only black haired male. Lucas whistled, "Damn, I didn't think you'll remember us. Must have great memory or something." Draco smiled and the noticed the parchment in the desks. "Looks like or schedule arrived," he announced. Everyone checked their desks and saw that, indeed their schedule have arrived. "Good eye," Marcus complemented. Draco have a nod in thanks and started placing his things on the drawers underneath his bed. "Umm," Lucas started. "Is anyone here allergic to cats?" He asked. Everyone shook their heads no. Lucas sighed in relief, "Good cause I ain't leaving Elizabeth the 3rd in her case all night," he said pointing at the fluffy pure white cat with bright blue eyes.

Everyone let out a small chuckle at the dark haired male and started changing into their pajamas. Once everyone finished they all said goodnight to each other before going to sleep.

oOo

~~

_Draco found himself in a dark room. He looked around before noticing a mantle hiding away something underneath. He walks forward baffled that he could move and pulled the mantle away. The cloth fell down with a small thud and their Draco saw a mirror looking back at him. He glanced on top of the mirror and saw a hidden message. 'erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.' He red it backwards, 'I show not your face but your hearts desire.' Draco looked at the mirror and saw her. Her black hair pulled tightly on a high bun, with a small black veil on her head, her small but tall body on the black dress Draco oh so always remembered, and finally her dark gray eyes staring emotionlessly at him. _**_'Mom..'_**

~~

Draco worked up with a start, he glanced around him and saw that he was in his dorm, at Hogwarts, safe and not with her. It was the first Demi-God dream he had in the three days he had while being here. He casted a small time spell and saw that it was nearly 5:00 A.M. he sighed and headed to the only bathroom in the dorm. He locked the door behind him and dispelled the glamour he had. His gelled platinum blonde locks turning pure messy white locks, along his light grey eyes fading and reveling heterochromia colores eyes. Both blue eye and dark grey eye stared back at him. He undressed himself and stepped in the shower relaxing when the warm water hitter his back.

Soon the young 'Malfoy' was ready and dressed in his uniform with his glamour back in place, he glanced around the dorm and saw everybody still asleep. He sighed and left the room caring his schedule and book case with him. He went to the common room and waited their noticing the lack of students. He stared at the fire lost in thought. His train of thought was cut short when he felt someone right behind him. He tensed slightly and grabbed the hand that was going to touch him. His wand pointed threatening at the ofender. "That's quite a good reflex you got there," Draco gave a sheepish grin and lowered his wand. Professor Snape stood there in all his glory. "My apologies professor, you startled me," Draco said. Snape shook his head and asked, "May I know why you're out of you dormitory at 5:00 in the morning, Mr.Malfoy?"

"I couldn't sleep," Draco answered. "So, I left the dormitories to not bother the others," he said facing the fire once again. Snape nodded and stared at Draco for a bit. "You may go to your first class, if you wish," Snape said fully aware that his class was the second one on his 'godsons' schedule. "Alright Professor Snape," Draco said, getting his things and started walking next to his 'godfather.'

As Draco headed to his D.A.D.A. class he could hear some light whispering coming from the classroom. He blended in with the shadows and turned slightly to see and hear more clearly. There he saw Professor Quirrell speaking to himself muttering things like 'master' and 'philosopher's stone.' What he said next made Draco on edge 'Dark Lord.' Draco hurriedly walks away before he could be noticed and headed back to the Slytherin's common room. Once there Draco wrote down what Professor Quirrell was mumbling to himself and made a mental note to look to it later.

After a few more hours it was finally time to got to class, and Draco dreaded it each step he took. Closer and closer to the class of Voldemort's follower. He took a seat at the middle of the class were he can keep an eye at the professor and keep a low profile at the same time. Soon everyone was set and class began. He took noticed that Potter winced every time he came close to Professor Quirrell and how he left the class after his headache was too much. Draco narrowed his eyes at the Professor and keeps working on his parchment.

** *Slight Time skip to when classes finally start***

Potter and Weasley were the last once to arrive and once they both sat down the door was slammed open, Professor Snape coming in his attire blending him with his surroundings.

Professor Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the register, and like Flitwick, he paused at Potter's name.

"Ah, yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new – celebrity."

Draco faked a snigger by his hand his bodyguards Crabbe and Goyle, doing the same. Professor Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class. His eyes cold and empty that made you think of dark tunnels.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potionmaking," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word – like Professor McGonagall, his 'godfather' had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses ... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death – if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

More silence followed this little speech. Draco noticed Potter and Weasley exchange looks with raised eyebrows. The bushy haired girl, Granger was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead.

"Potter!" said his 'godfather' said suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Draco as well as everyone else looked at Potter seeing if he'll answer, by the looks of his confused face; he didn't know the answer; Potter's female friend hand had shot into the air.

"I don't know, sir," Potter said.

His 'godfather' lips curled into a sneer. "Tut, tut – fame clearly isn't everything."

He ignored Granger's hand.

"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Granger stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat, but Potter probably didn't have the faintest idea what a bezoar was. Draco faked his laughter when Potter glanced his way his bodyguards laughing with him.

"I don't know, sir."

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?"

Potter looked as if he was forcing himself to keep looking straight into his 'godfather's' cold eyes. Draco looked at Potter's frowned face and noticed that Professor Snape was still ignoring Granger's quivering hand. "What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

At this, Hermione stood up, her hand stretching towards the dungeon ceiling.

"I don't know," Potter said quietly. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?"

A few people laughed around Draco. Professor Snape, was not pleased with Potter's answer.

"Sit down," he snapped at Granger. "For your information, Potter,-" Draco got ready to write down whatever his 'godfather' was going to say. Brief memories of the lessons he had with him in his mind-"asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"

There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment from the other students around Draco. Over the noise, Professor Snape said, "And a point will be taken from Gryffindor house for your cheek, Potter."

Things didn't improve for the Gryffindors as the Potions lesson continued. Professor Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. He swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticising almost everyone except him, since he had already been taught this. Professor Snape was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way he had stewed his horned slugs when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. One of the Gryffindor's, Neville, had somehow managed to melt his partners cauldron into a twisted blob and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Within seconds, the whole class were standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs.

"Idiot boy!" Professor Snape snarled, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"

Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose. "Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at another Gryffindor, Seamus. Then he rounded on Potter and Weasley, who had been working next to Neville.

"You – Potter – why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor."

Both Gryffindor's stayed quiet even if they wished to have said something. That would only cause them to lose more points. Draco slightly frowned at the way his 'godfather' had treated the Gryffindor's, but knew why he did it. It was a slight revenge for what James did.

oOo

After Draco had finished all his classes for the day. He told both Crabbe and Goyle to leave him alone and went to the library to search for answers. He went through each book he could find that had any information on the philosopher's stone. Until he was able to find something by his eleventh book.

_The Philosopher's Stone was a legendary substance with properties. This ruby-red stone could be used to create the , which made the drinker , as well as transform any metal into . The only known Stone to have ever existed was created by the famed alchemist ._

He red and his brain started to for any posible way of why Professor Quirrell might want the stone. And the parchment he had written down everything he said came to mind. He searched around his book case until he found it. He red the parchment and placed everything together. Voldemort was somehow interacting with Professor Quirrell and made him search for the stone to give him immortality, but he couldn't place why they decided to search for the stone. And then the memory of the thing both Potter and him saw at the forest when they where in detention came to mind. That thing was somehow connected to Voldemort but it failed so now he has to search for the stone. He placed the books back before carefully ripping the pages of the information he found out. He placed them on his book case and left to The Great Hall.

***In the Slytherins Dormitories***

Draco laid in bed lost in thought, his roommates where already asleep and he couldn't fell asleep to much things where at his mind to let him sleep. That day at dinner Dumbledore had made and announcement about the prohibitive part of the school that students weren't allowed to go and for some reason that thought bothered him. 'What could Dumbledore have there, that was dangerous enough for total isolation?' He thought. Draco sighed again and tried to get comfortable enough to get some rest.

~~

_Draco found himself inside some sort of house. He soon recognized it as Hagrid's home, he stayed still looking at Hagrid place some sort of egg on the fireplace. And then saw Potter and his friends go inside and start talking with Hagrid after Hagrid mentioned something about a strange man giving him the dragon egg after winning some kind of bet. Potter and his friends started asking some sort of questions to Hagrid. Hagrid went on and on after he accidentally mentioned that the three headed dog Fluffy (that sounded like some sort of cousin from a certain three headed dog from the Underworld Percy mentioned), that was apparently guarding something, had been recently disturbed and was found sleeping with music playing. The trapdoor it was guarding opened wide. Luckily nothing was stolen but it was something that putted teachers on edge since the troll accident had happened recently. Draco head snapped at Hagrid's direction when he mentioned the Philosopher's Stone. After that his vision went black_

_~~ _

Draco worked up with as small gasp. He placed himself into a sitting position to gain his breath and cast a quick time spell. 4:45 A.M. he let out a sigh something he noticed he was doing a lot. He grabbed a tiny textbook he had in the bottom of his bed covered with both his pillow and his bed sheets. He wrote down his Demi-God dream and placed it back; he started to get ready.


	6. Quidditch Sabotage

_He grabbed a tiny textbook he had in the bottom of his bed covered with both his pillow and his bed sheets. He wrote down his Demi-God dream and placed it back; he started to get ready._

**3rd Person P.O.V.**

Draco sighed once classes were over, today was the day of the first Quidditch Match; Slytherin vs Gryffindor. Draco was slightly worried since in his typical 'bully mode' he had going one he managed to get Potter onto the Quidditch team, him playing the seeker. He had a bad feeling in his gut that something was going to be wrong. As the match finally begins, Draco's ADHD seems to get the best of him and he lets his eyes wonder around the stables. As his eyes traveled to the teachers seats, he discovers that both his 'godfather' and Professor Quirrell are missing. He tenses slightly and starts looking around for the teachers when he notices his 'godfather' with his wand out eyes focused at something. He follows his view and see that he's looking straight at Potter.

Draco noticed that when Potter caught sight of the snitch his broom started going wild. Draco heard the loud gasps of the audience. He remembers in one of his flying lessons he was forced to take by the Malfoy's that the only way for a broom to lose control like that was with dark magic. His traveled furiously trying to find Professor Quirrell until he finds him. Before he could shoutout a stunning spell he heard a female voice yell something and the next thing he knows his 'godfather' was lit on fire fully distracting Quirrell. Letting Potter gain control of broom once more. Draco then saw Potter was speeding towards the ground when the crowd saw him clap his hand to his mouth as though he was about to be sick – he hit the pitch on all fours – coughed – and something gold fell into his hand.

"I've got the Snitch!" Potter shouted, waving it above his head, and the game ended in complete confusion.

oOo

Draco went into his dormitory when in there he saw Marcus on sitting on the ground close to his bed. His knees up to his chest, Draco sighed knowing he was like that for losing their first Quidditch Match against the Gryffindor's. He spotted Lucas's cat, Elizabeth the 3rd, on his own bed. He went up to her grabbed her gently and went to Marcus. "Here," He said carefully hanging Elizabeth over to Marcus. Marcus let out a small 'thanks' and changed his sitting position to let Elizabeth be on his lap. He started petting her. Both males stayed quiet the only sound of the room being their breathing and Elizabeth's soft purrs. "Look," Draco started. "I understand that you feel down because you lost," Marcus opened his mouth to refuse, but Draco silenced him. "And that's normal but losing a game shouldn't matter so much. If you feel like it should since you're the future captain or whatever. Know that this was only one game that you've lost this year. Even if you lost the first time doesn't mean that it's the end of the world, you have other matches to win or lose. This one shouldn't bother you to much, besides if it makes you feel better we've won more times against the Gryffindor's than they had," Draco playfully punched Marcus's arm. Marcus let out a slight chuckle and let out a grin, "Yeah you're right, this shouldn't matter that much. Thanks Drake." Marcus smiled placing Elizabeth on Draco's lap and leaving the room on a much better mood. After Marcus left Lucas came in, "You got him in quite the good mood, didn't ya?" Lucas asked slightly smirking. Draco smiled and said, "What can I say I'm good with words." Draco shrugged petting Elizabeth the 3rd.

"Here," Draco said. "Have your pussy back," Draco grinned slightly running out of the room after tossing Elizabeth to her owner. "HOW DARE YOU CALL HER MAJESTY A PUSSY! COME 'ERE YOU!," Lucas yelled chasing Draco.

oOo

Draco panted slightly as he finally got away from Lucas. He sighed and looked around to see himself in a random classroom. He glanced around the room and noticed the lack of light. He went and grabbed his wand, only to realize he left it on the dormitories. He groaned and wished that they were some kind of light. All of the sudden the whole room lit up with candles. He glanced around the room feeling a slight chill up his spine. He looked around and noticed the lack of candles and that the room somehow lit itself up. He shrugged and looked around when he noticed a white sheet on the floor. He went towards it and grabbed it accidentally pulling it more. Making it fall of completely. There he noticed a mirror, it was facing the opposite of him so he turned around and saw the familiar design. The mirror he saw in his dreams, _The Mirror of Erised._

Draco looked up to the mirror and saw the same thing he saw on his dream. _His mother_. She was wearing the same thing he remembered her always wearing. She had her hand on his shoulder and was _smiling at him. _His heart clenched painfully and his eyes watered at the sight of the smile he so wanted her to have when she saw him. He felt himself longing for her to hug him like he had seen other mothers do to their children. Not leave him alone and isolate him on his room. He wanted to see her eyes sparkle with joy and warmth when she saw him, and not the pure terror she had when she saw him _kill things _with a simple touch. He didn't want to hear her cry at night because someone else **died **because he touched them. Maybe If he was normal she wouldn't be afraid of him, maybe that way she wouldn't have left him. Draco didn't know how long he stayed their looking at his reflection playing with his laughing mother. Draco snapped out of his little fantasy when he felt the hand on his shoulder. He glanced up and saw his 'godfather' there. "Come Draco," He said. "There's nothing for you in here," Severus grabbed the white sheet and covered the mirror once more. He turned around and grabbed Draco's hand, leading him outside of the classroom.

oOo

Christmas came sooner than what Draco would of wanted. All of his dorm mates had decided to leave while he stayed at Hogwarts. He knew he wouldn't celebrate Christmas with the Malfoy's, they never did celebrate. After his encounter with the mirror (that Draco later learned was inside The Room of Requirement.) Draco went to Potter and challenged him into a duel after their bedtime. He told Potter to go to the area close to The Room of Requirement and went to sleep. Clearly knowing he left Potter discover The Mirror of Erised.

~~

_Draco saw himself in the same place he was last time he dreamed. He saw Potter and his friends yelling at Hagrid about what he can make the Quidditch accident. He rolled his eyes at them for thinking his 'godfather' was the one cursing Potter. When the scene changed and he saw them sitting down and telling Hagrid that his 'godfather' was trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone. He perked up when Hagrid reveles that only Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel were the only ones knowing where the stone is. His vision faded black, but he had all the information he needed_.

~~

Draco woke up and sat up on his bed. He wrote what he saw on his dream and started to think what he could do with what he knew. 'If Hagrid didn't believe Potter about his worries, what would I've done in his shoes?' He thought and realization came to him, 'I'll try to solve it myself.'

oOo

Draco hid one the library the sheet of paper he ripped about Nicolas Flamel on his hand. He overheard Potter and his friends saying who'll stay and search for information about the stone and Nicolas Flamel. He waited until they left agreeing that the girl, Granger was the one to look for the information. He went to the library and got the book he ripped the sheet from with a quick 'Geminio' he duplicated the page Incase he needed the information for the future and muttered 'Reparo' under his breath the ripped sheet becoming one with the book once again. He folded the bottom of the page and left a note inside. He waited for Granger to come and placed a quick 'notice-me-not' charm and left the book on her stack of books; leaving the library.

**Aaannndd done! Well I sure did skip some things in here but give me a break I have to make sure I have both PJ series here as well as HP series. And have to make sure their isn't many plot holes in the story while the time scene making sense. Also, instead of Harry discovering the Mirror of Erised vía his invisible cloak. I made Draco give him some extra push to discover it himself (hope you don't mind that.) we'll see ya in the next chapter!**

**-D**


	7. The Philosopher’s Stone

_He folded the bottom of the page and left a note inside. He waited for Granger to come and placed a quick 'notice-me-not' charm and left the book on her stack of books; leaving the library._

**3rd Person P.O.V.**

Christmas break soon ended and the students of Hogwarts where back to school. Classes started and everything was normal. Draco sometimes noticed Potter and his friends acting strange, and he wonders if they had caught up to who was trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone. He mostly laid back on bothering them (with some comments here and their.) days past and now (with the lack of their beloved D.A.D.A. Professor.) it was the time to see which house has won The House Cup that year.

Everyone was enjoying their meal, their little black pointy hats placed in their heads respectfully. Until Professor McGonagall clinked her glass and Dumbledore stood up; effectively gaining all the students attention.

"Another year gone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully you heads are all a little fuller than they were...you have the whole summer ahead of get them nice and empty before next year starts...

Now, as I understand it, the House Cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy-two."

"Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin," Dumbledore said looking at the Slytherin table. Draco smiled slightly, he knew how many of his fellow Slytherins worked hard to get their points, and how some who didn't quite appreciate Professors Snape favoritism lost points to make it fair. "However, -" Draco's smile instantly slipped out his face. "Recent events must be taken into account."

"Ahem," Dumbledore fake coughed. "I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes...

"First -- to Mr. Ronald Weasley..."

'_No. Oh no he wouldn't.'_

"...for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years. I award Gryffindor House fifty points."

_'Oh no he didn't.'_

"Second -- to Miss Hermione Granger...for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor House fifty points."

_'He did didn't he?'_

"Third -- to Mr. Harry Potter..." Dumbledore said. The room went deadly quiet. "...for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor House sixty points."

"There are all kinds of courage," Dumbledore said, smiling. "It takes a great deal to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."

"Which means," he stopped a bit, for drastic affect. "We need a little change of decoration."

Draco watched as the Slytherin banners and colors were replaced by Gryffindor's. He frowned as Dumbledore didn't have any more points to any other house. He was fine with the sudden point giving knowing, or well slightly knowing, why they were given. But couldn't Dumbledore give any other house extra last minute points too? There was surly something they did in this school year. Draco sighed as he looked around the table looking at the slightly shocked, angry, confused, and sad faces everyone on his table made. He tuned out all the cheering and clapping from the other tables, he just looked down and slightly poked at his food. He lost his appetite, he looked at the side and saw Goyle and Crabbe their, he passed his plate to them and told them to eat it claiming he wasn't hungry.

oOo

Soon enough bags where packed and goodbyes were given and everyone hopped on Hogwarts Express. Draco sat with his dorm mates and noticed the gloomy atmosphere. 'They must still be moody over the house cup,' he thought. He sighed and looked at them, "So..." He trailed off, all eyes where on him. "Now that the year is over. What are you guys going to do during your summer," He asked. Lucas caught on on what he was doing and smiled thankfully. "I don't know man I haven't really thought much about it," he said, smiling up at Draco. The others exchanged glances, "Understandable, we're barely leaving Hogwarts and how could we, underaged wizards know what we should do. When we always rely on our parents or friends to take us somewhere," Draco said in the most polite and serious voice he could muster. "But I must say the only thing we should be thinking about is just surviving through this summer," He continued, slight chuckles came from the guys. Lucas gasped dramatically, "How dare you assume my goal was to survive through the summer!" Draco smirked and said, "Oh darling we all know you're going to do something dumb this summer, but you'll survive cause you wouldn't want to leave Elizabeth the 3rd alone." Lucas just gasped more loudly and hugged his cat who was just coming to lay in Draco. "Don't rat me out like that, Draco! Also, bold of you to assume I'll leave Lizzy alone! If I die she dies with me, she doesn't have a choice!" Everyone in the room laughed. "Well," Draco started. "Want to see if she'll die with you," he said creepily, going to one of his bags and pulling out a small dagger he had found in the hallways at Hogwarts. Lucas paled at the sight of the dagger. "He he, you don't want to test that Drake. I'm pretty sure with how my cat would stay loyal," Lucas gave out a nervous chuckle and gave Elizabeth a slight nudge. "Right Lizzy?" Elizabeth didn't answer and just walked away and placed herself on Draco's lap. "She likes me, maybe I should keep her after you die," he jokes. "LIZZY NOOOOO! I BELIEVED IN YOU MY BELOVED, MY PRECIOUS FURRY BABY, MY LOVE DON'T DO THIS TO YOUR DADDY!" Lucas cried dramatically. "Top 10 anime betrayals," Draco muttered, kicking a crying Lucas away from him. "Go cry me a river somewhere else. You're making Elizabeth uncomfortable," he said kicking Lucas once again. Lucas nursed his wounds and sat next to Marcus, cuddling him. Marcus awkwardly gives the crying male a little pat in the back, a slight blush forming on his checks as everyone laughed at them. After everyone finished they started laughing and joking around their gloomy mood long forgotten, and they stayed like that all the way to Hogsmeade Station.

Draco let out a sigh as he waited for his 'parents' his friends already left and he was the only one at the station. 'They didn't forget to pick me up, did they?' He questioned. He sighed once again and started pushing his cart and made his way to the mansion. Almost out of the station did he stop when he heard a loud 'pop' coming from behind. He quickly turned around and saw a house elf 'Dobby' he thought. "Young Master, Dobby is Here to pick Young Master up. After Master Malfoy and Mistress left the house for a few days," Dobby said bowing, before lifting his hand and glancing at Draco's own. Draco smiled sadly and took Dobby's hand, instantly reappearing at the Malfoy library, he so instantly identified. "Thank you Dobby, you may go finish whatever duties you need to do," Draco said. Dobby bowed slightly and ran out the room leaving Draco on his own once again. He sighed and headed to the attic, where his room was. He didn't want to be in any room that was in the house, so he chose the attic. There was even a window he could use to go onto the roof. He looked around the dull room, their was no special colors nor decorations in the room, he didn't spend much time in here anyways. He quickly placed all his supplies and set his owl in his desk. Giving him a little treat and opening the cage and letting Eclipse out. "There you go, some more space after being locked up for the whole time," he muttered. "I'll gonna leave soon," he said to the owl. "So I'll need you to stay here and not make much noise. I'll have a house elf taking care of you while I'm out at camp okay," he gave his owl a small pat. Which Eclipse enjoyed. He smiled and started taking out his bag and placing his 'muggle' clothes in there. Quickly changing out of his robes and putting the familiar orange shirt, some khaki shorts, a dark grey jacket, dispelled the glamour he had on and wore some old vans he had bought in his time over in America. He clutched his camp necklace funneled with the seven beads before heading of to the kitchen. When he got there he asked one of the elves to take care of his owl and to keep and eye out for Narcissa and Lucius and when they come back to alert him. He thanked the elf and headed to the garden and behind a bush and proceeded to dig up the familiar black coin, a porky Lady Hecate has given him for his travels to Camp Half Blood to become faster. He clutched the coin and said, "Camp Half Blood." Disappearing as he finished talking.

oOo

Draco let out a small 'oof' as he fell near Thalia's tree. He got up wiped some of the dirt on his shorts and walked to the Hermes cabin. Waving at a few people he recognized along the way. Once he got to the cabin he saw a bunch of blondes turning at him. Some recognizing him before smiling slightly and quickly saying a 'Welcome back Drake' and 'Glade you didn't die on us,' from the crowd. He quickly made it to the corner and placed his black sleeping bag there. Quickly muttering a slight protection spell on his bag and placing it inside the sleeping bag. He headed outside and went to the shore, seeing the gentle waves and the smell of the ocean relaxing him. He hopped this summer was normal.

**Aaannndd done! Hope you liked this chapter and early apologizes for not putting all the action that happened with Quirrell and Harry, but I thought I shouldn't place it since not many students knew what happened and because Draco wasn't really present there... Well anyways first HP book finished and now we head to PJ can you guess which book it'll be? See you in the next chapter!**

**-D**


	8. Thalia’s Tree was WHAT?

_Quickly muttering a slight protection spell on his bag and placing it inside the sleeping bag. He headed outside and went to the shore, seeing the gentle waves and the smell of the ocean relaxing him. He hopped this summer was normal._

**3rd Person P.O.V.**

Draco was fighting along other campers against the bulls. They seemed to be coming from everywhere and the wall protecting the camp seemed to be failing. He stabbed, dogged, kick, and yelled warnings at the others when the bulls got a bit too close to his liking. Clarisse was yelling at them to get to the phalanx formation. It was a good idea. The few who were listening lined up shoulder-to-shoulder, locking their shields to form an ox-hide—and-bronze wall, their spears bristling over the top like porcupine quills.

Unfortunately, Clarisse could only muster six campers, himself included. The other four were still running around with their helmets on fire. Draco saw Annabeth running towards them, trying to help. She taunted one of the bulls into chasing her, then turned invisible, completely confusing the monster. The other bull charged Clarisse's line.

Draco slashed at one of the bulls weak points on their legs. Effectively crippling it and then stabbed its head, effectively killing it. Draco was going to go help one of the campers that got injured when he noticed something on the corner of his eye. Another bull.

The bull moved deadly fast for something so big. Its metal hide gleamed in the sun. It had fist-sized rubies for eyes, and horns of polished silver. When it opened its hinged mouth, a column of white-hot flame blasted out.

"Hold the line!" Clarisse ordered her warriors.

Whatever else you could say about Clarisse, she was brave. She was a big girl with cruel eyes like her father's. She looked like she was born to wear Greek battle armor, but Draco didn't see how even she could stand against that bull's charge.

Unfortunately, at that moment, the other bull lost interest in finding Annabeth. It turned, wheeling around behind Clarisse on her unprotected side.

"Behind you!" Draco heard someone yell. "Look out!"

Whoever said that shouldn't have said anything, because all they did was startle her. Bull Number One crashed into her shield, and the phalanx broke. Clarisse went flying backward and landed in a smoldering patch of grass. The bull charged past her, but not before blasting the other heroes with its fiery breath. Their shields melted right off their arms. They dropped their weapons and ran as Bull Number Two closed in on Clarisse for the kill.

Draco saw a figure lunged itself forward and grabbed Clarisse by the straps of her armor. And dragged her out of the way just as Bull Number Two freight-trained past. They gave it a good swipe with their sword and cut a huge gash in its flank, but the monster just creaked and groaned and kept on going.

It hadn't touched the person, but Draco can imagine they could feel the heat of its metal skin he felt the phantom pain in his right thigh. Its body temperature could've make a dragons fire seem as a hot bath.

"Let me go!" Clarisse pummeled the person- Percy's hand. "Percy, curse you!"

Percy dropped her in a heap next to the pine tree and turned to face the bulls. They were on the inside slope of the hill now, the valley of Camp Half-Blood directly below us—the cabins, the training facilities, the Big House—all of it at risk if these bulls got past us.

Annabeth shouted orders to the other heroes, telling them to spread out and keep the bulls distracted.

Bull Number One ran a wide arc, making its way back toward Percy. Draco got his sword in position when it passed the middle of the hill, where the invisible boundary line should've kept it out, it slowed down a little, as if it were struggling against a strong wind; but then it broke through and kept coming. Bull Number Two turned to face Percy, fire sputtering from the gash he'd cut in its side. Draco couldn't tell if it felt any pain, but its ruby eyes seemed to glare at Percy as if he'd just made things personal.

Percy couldn't fight both bulls at the same time. He'd have to take down Bull Number Two first, cut its head off before Bull Number One charged back into range. Draco ran towards him, "I got your back just as long as you got mine." Percy looked at Draco with gratitude, obviously tired and out of shape with his sword.

Percy lunged but Bull Number Two blew flames at me. Percy rolled aside as the air turned to pure heat. Draco noticed Percy's foot caught on something—a tree root, maybe—and quickly slashed at Bull Number One respecting his early strategy. Running towards Percy but before he could, Percy had managed to slash it with his sword and lop off part of the monster's snout. It galloped away, wild and disoriented. Percy tried to stand up, but his left leg Buckeyes underneath him. His ankle was sprained, maybe broken.

Another Bull that Draco failed to noticed charged straight toward Percy. No way could he make it in time with the burn in his leg. Draco ran towards him before he heard Annabeth shout: "Tyson, help him!"

Somewhere near, toward the crest of the hill Draco could hear, Tyson wail, "Can't—get—through!" Draco quickly yelled, "I, Draco Black, give you permission to enter camp!"

Thunder shook the hillside. Suddenly Tyson was there, barreling toward Percy, yelling: "Percy needs help!"

Before anyone could say anything, he dove between Percy and the bull just as it unleashed a nuclear firestorm.

"Tyson!" Percy yelled.

The blast swirled around him like a red tornado. Draco could only see the black silhouette of his body. Draco knew with horrible certainty that whoever this Tyson fellow was had just been turned into a column of ashes.

But when the fire died, Tyson was still standing there, completely unharmed. Not even his grungy clothes were scorched. Draco's eyes widen as he looked at Tyson's face. 'He only had one eye!' The word cyclops he registered in his mind. The bull must've been as surprised as he was, because before it could unleash a second blast, Tyson balled his fists and slammed them into the bull's face. "BAD COW!"

His fists made a crater where the bronze bull's snout used to be. Two small columns of flame shot out of its ears. Tyson hit it again, and the bronze crumpled under his hands like aluminum foil.

The bull's face now looked like a sock puppet pulled inside out.

"Down!" Tyson yelled.

The bull staggered and fell on its back. Its legs moved feebly in the air, steam coming out of its ruined head in odd places.

Draco and Annabeth ran over to check on Percy.

Annabeth gave Percy some Olympian nectar to drink from her canteen, and gave some to Draco too. He immediately started to feel better. There was a burning smell that Draco didn't know if it was himself or Percy.

"The other bull?" Percy asked.

Annabeth pointed down the hill. Clarisse had taken care of Bad Cow Number Three. She'd impaled it through the back leg with a celestial bronze spear. Now, with its snout half gone and a huge gash in its side, it was trying to run in slow motion, going in circles like some kind of merry-go-round animal.

Clarisse pulled off her helmet and marched toward us. A strand of her stringy brown hair was smoldering, but she didn't seem to notice. "You—ruin—everything!" she yelled at Percy. "I had it under control!"

Percy was too stunned to answer. Annabeth grumbled, "Good to see you too, Clarisse."

"Argh!" Clarisse screamed. "Don't ever, EVER try saving me again!"

"Clarisse," Draco said, "you've got wounded campers."

That sobered her up. Even Clarisse cared about the soldiers under her command.

"I'll be back," she growled, then trudged off to assess the damage.

Percy stared at Tyson. "You didn't die," he said.

Tyson looked down like he was embarrassed. "I am sorry. Came to help. Disobeyed you."

"My fault," Draco said. "I had no choice. I had to let Tyson cross the boundary line to save you. Otherwise, you would've died."

"Let him cross the boundary line?'" Percy asked. "But—"

"Percy," Draco and Annabeth both said, "have you ever looked at Tyson closely? I mean ... in the face. Ignore the Mist, and really look at him." Percy looked at Tyson with a focused look. Realization quickly came on his face.

"Tyson," Percy stammered. "You're a ..."

"Cyclops," Annabeth offered. "A baby, by the looks of him. Probably why he couldn't get past the boundary line as easily as the bulls. Tyson's one of the homeless orphans."

"One of the what?" Percy questioned, face full of confusion.

"They're in almost all the big cities," Annabeth said distastefully. "They're ... mistakes, Percy.

Children of nature spirits and gods ... Well, one god in particular, usually ... and they don't always come out right. No one wants them. They get tossed aside. They grow up wild on the streets. I don't know how this one found you, but he obviously likes you. We should take him to Chiron, let him decide what to do."

"That's quite a harsh way to put it," Draco commented.

"But the fire. How—" Percy questioned before Annabeth interrupted.

"He's a Cyclops." Annabeth paused, as if she were remembering something unpleasant. Draco frowned knowing what she was thinking about. He had heard Luke tell them once he was claimed by Hermes.

"They work the forges of the gods. They have to be immune to fire. That's what I was trying to tell you."

Percy looked completely shocked. Probably because he had never realized what Tyson was. Draco looked around the mountain.

Wounded heroes needed attention. And there were still two banged-up bronze bulls to dispose of, which he didn't figure would fit in our normal recycling bins.

Clarisse came back over and wiped the soot off her forehead. "Jackson, if you can stand, get up. We need to carry the wounded back to the Big House, let Tantalus know what's happened."

"Tantalus?" Percy asked.

"The activities director," Clarisse said impatiently.

"Chiron is the activities director. And where's Argus? He's head of security. He should be here."

Draco made a sour face. "Argus got fired. You two have been gone too long. Things are changing."

"But Chiron ... He's trained kids to fight monsters for over three thousand years. He can't just be gone. What happened?"

"That happened," Clarisse snapped.

She pointed to Thalia's tree.

Every camper knew the story behind the tree. Six years ago, Grover, Annabeth, and two other demigods named Thalia and Luke had come to Camp Half-Blood chased by an army of monsters. When they got cornered on top of this hill, Thalia, a daughter of Zeus, had made her last stand here to give her friends time to reach safety. As she was dying, her father, Zeus, took pity on her and changed her into a pine tree. Her spirit had reinforced the magic borders of the camp, protecting it from monsters. The pine had been here ever since, strong and healthy.

But now, its needles were yellow. A huge pile of dead ones littered the base of the tree. In the center of the trunk, three feet from the ground, was a puncture mark the size of a bullet hole, oozing green sap.

A sliver of ice ran through Draco's chest. Just looking at the tree made him know that it was really happening. The magical borders were failing because Thalia's tree was dying and someone had poisoned it.

oOo

When Draco said he wanted a normal summer this wasn't it. Thalia's Tree has been poisoned and the main suspect is Luke. Clarisse was in a pissier mood than normal and Annabeth was able to get Percy to come back (As well as a cyclops named Tyson, he is a sweetheart by the way,) here when the news spread like wildfire. Camp wasn't the same as when he first got here it didn't change that much but there was a type of vibe in the air. As if something was wrong, dangerous. Campers keeper to themselves and whenever they saw Tyson some did double takes when they saw Tyson, but most just walked grimly past and carried on with their duties—running messages, toting swords to sharpen on the grinding wheels. The camp felt like a military school. And believe me, Draco knew. He've heard Percy tell him some of the stories of how he had been kicked out of a couple.

None of that mattered to Tyson. He was absolutely fascinated by everything he saw.

"Whasthat!" he gasped.

"The stables for pegasi," Percy said. "The winged horses."

"Whasthat!"

"Um ... those are the toilets," Draco said. Slightly smiling at the excited child.

"Whasthat!"

"The cabins for the campers. If they don't know who your Olympian parent is, they put you in the Hermes cabin—that brown one over there—until you're determined. Then, once they know, they put you in your dad or mom's group," Percy explained.

He looked at Percy in awe. "You ... have a cabin?" Tyson asked.

"Number three." Percy pointed to a low gray building made of sea stone. Tyson looked at Draco and said, "Do you... have a cabin too?"

Draco nodded, "Number eleven." He pointed at the messy cabin. Many campers coming and in and out of it.

"You live with friends in the cabin?" Tyson asked.

"No. No, just me." Percy said. Trying to avoid the embarrassing truth: he was the only one who stayed in that cabin because he wasn't supposed to be alive. The "Big Three" gods—Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades—had made a pact after World War II not to have any more children with mortals. They were more powerful than regular half-bloods. They were too unpredictable. When they got mad they tended to cause problems ... like World War II, for instance. The "Big Three" pact had only been broken twice—once when Zeus sired Thalia, once when Poseidon sired Percy. Neither of them should've been born.

"I just sleep in mine. Don't have too much friends since they tend to steal things from me, or well try too. Well I'm not even a member of the cabin, I'm just there since I'm unclaimed," Draco said trying to get the awkward silence to stop. Percy looked thankful and both showed Tyson the rest of the camp.

The next day Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson followed Draco to the Big House, there they found Chiron in his apartment, listening to his favorite 1960s lounge music while he packed his saddlebags. Draco guessed he should mention—Chiron is a centaur. From the waist up he looks like a regular middle-aged guy with curly brown hair and a scraggly beard. From the waist down, he's a white stallion. He can pass for human by compacting his lower half into a magic wheelchair. In fact, he'd passed himself off as a Latin teacher when he teaches all the young Demi-Gods.( They might be Demi-Gods that die at a young age, but they still need their education.) But most of the time, if the ceilings are high enough, he prefers hanging out in full centaur form.

As soon as they saw him, Tyson froze. "Pony!" he cried in total rapture.

Chiron turned, looking offended. "I beg your pardon?"

Annabeth ran up and hugged him. "Chiron, what's happening? You're not ... leaving?" Her voice was shaky. Chiron was like a second father to her.

Chiron ruffled her hair and gave her a kindly smile. "Hello, child. And Percy, my goodness.

You've grown over the year!"

Percy visibly swallowed. "Clarisse said you were ... you were ..."

Draco stayed quite and looked at Chiron.

"Fired." Chiron's eyes glinted with dark humor. "Ah, well, someone had to take the blame.

Lord Zeus was most upset. The tree he'd created from the spirit of his daughter, poisoned! Mr. D had to punish someone."

"Besides himself, you mean," Percy growled. Draco frowned, as if 'accidentally' turning him into a dolphin when he first got here wasn't enough. His hand absently clutched the black bead with the picture of a dolphin in it.

"But this is crazy!" Annabeth cried. "Chiron, you couldn't have had anything to do with poisoning Thalia's tree!"

"Nevertheless," Chiron sighed, "some in Olympus do not trust me now, under the circumstances."

"What circumstances?" Percy asked.

Chiron's face darkened. He stuffed a Latin-English dictionary into his saddlebag while the Frank Sinatra music oozed from his boom box.

Tyson was still staring at Chiron in amazement. He whimpered like he wanted to pat Chiron's flank but was afraid to come closer. "Pony?"

Chiron sniffed. "My dear young Cyclops! I am a centaur. "

"Chiron," Percy said. "What about the tree? What happened?"

He shook his head sadly. "The poison used on Thalia's pine is something from the Underworld, Percy. Some venom even I have never seen. It must have come from a monster quite deep in the pits of Tartarus."

"Then we know who's responsible. Kro—"

"Do not invoke the titan lord's name, Percy. Especially not here, not now."

"But last summer he tried to cause a civil war in Olympus! This has to be his idea. He'd get Luke to do it, that traitor," Percy said. Draco noticed Annabeth clench her hands at the mention of her crush.

"Perhaps," Chiron said. "But I fear I am being held responsible because I did not prevent it and I cannot cure it. The tree has only a few weeks of life left unless ..."

"Unless what?" Annabeth asked.

"No," Chiron said. "A foolish thought. The whole valley is feeling the shock of the poison. The magical borders are deteriorating. The camp itself is dying. Only one source of magic would be strong enough to reverse the poison, and it was lost centuries ago."

"What is it?" Percy asked. "We'll go find it!"

Chiron closed his saddlebag. He pressed the stop button on his boom box. Then he turned and rested his hand on my shoulder, looking at Percy straight in the eyes. "Percy, you must promise me that you will not act rashly. I told your mother I did not want you to come here at all this summer. It's much too dangerous. But now that you are here, stay here. Train hard. Learn to fight. But do not leave."

"Why?" Percy asked. "I want to do something! I can't just let the borders fail. The whole camp will be—"

"Overrun by monsters," Chiron said. "Yes, I fear so. But you must not let yourself be baited into hasty action! This could be a trap of the titan lord. Remember last summer! He almost took your life."

It was true, but still, Draco knew Percy wanted to help so badly. He also wanted to make Kronos pay. You'd think the titan lord would've learned his lesson eons ago when he was overthrown by the gods. You'd think getting chopped into a million pieces and cast into the darkest part of the Underworld would give him a subtle clue that nobody wanted him around. But no. Because he was immortal, he was still alive down there in Tartarus—suffering in eternal pain, hungering to return and take revenge on Olympus. He couldn't act on his own, but he was great at twisting the minds of mortals and even gods to do his dirty work.

Draco clenched his jaw the poisoning had to be Luke's doing. Who else would be so low as to attack Thalia's tree, the only thing left of a hero who'd given her life to save her friends?

Annabeth was trying hard not to cry. Chiron brushed a tear from her cheek. "Stay with Percy, child," he told her. "Keep him safe. The prophecy—remember it!"

"I—I will."

"Um ..." Percy said. "Would this be the super-dangerous prophecy that has me in it, but the gods have forbidden you to tell me about?"

Nobody answered.

"Right," I muttered. "Just checking." Percy looked at Draco in the eye. Draco mouthed 'I'll tell you later,' before looking back at Chiron.

"Chiron ..." Annabeth said. "You told me the gods made you immortal only so long as you were needed to train heroes. If they dismiss you from camp—"

"Swear you will do your best to keep Percy from danger," he insisted. "Swear upon the River Styx."

"I—I swear it upon the River Styx," Annabeth said.

Thunder rumbled outside.

"Very well," Chiron said. He seemed to relax just a little. "Perhaps my name will be cleared and I shall return. Until then, I go to visit my wild kinsmen in the Everglades. It's possible they know of some cure for the poisoned tree that I have forgotten. In any event, I will stay in exile until this matter is resolved ... one way or another."

Annabeth stifled a sob. Chiron patted her shoulder awkwardly. "There, now, child. I must entrust your safety to Mr. D and the new activities director. We must hope ... well, perhaps they won't destroy the camp quite as quickly as I fear."

"Who is this Tantalus guy, anyway?" Percy demanded. "Where does he get off taking your job?"

A conch horn blew across the valley. Draco hadn't realized how late it was. It was time for the campers to assemble for dinner.

"Go," Chiron said. "You will meet him at the pavilion. I will contact your mother, Percy, and let her know you're safe. No doubt she'll be worried by now. Just remember my warning! You are in grave danger. Do not think for a moment that the titan lord has forgotten you!"

With that, he clopped out of the apartment and down the hall, Tyson calling after him, "Pony! Don't go!"

Tyson started bawling almost as bad as Annabeth. Draco alongside Percy tried to tell them that things would be okay, but they both didn't believe it.

The sun was setting behind the dining pavilion as the campers came up from their cabins.

They stood in the shadow of a marble column and watched them file in. Annabeth was still pretty shaken up, but she promised she'd talk to us later. Then she went off to join her siblings from the Athena cabin—a dozen boys and girls with blond hair and gray eyes like hers. Annabeth wasn't the oldest, but she'd been at camp more summers than just about anybody. You could tell that by looking at her camp necklace—one bead for every summer, and Annabeth had four. No one questioned her right to lead the line.

Next came Clarisse, leading the Ares cabin. She had one arm in a sling and a nasty-looking gash on her cheek, but otherwise her encounter with the bronze bulls didn't seem to have fazed her. Draco himself still had bandages around the burn in his thigh. As well as a patch on his check. Both boys noticed someone had taped a piece of paper to her back that said, YOU MOO, GIRL! But nobody in her cabin was bothering to tell her about it.

After the Ares kids came the Hephaestus cabin—six guys led by Charles Beckendorf, a big fifteen-year-old African American kid. He had hands the size of catchers' mitts and a face that was hard and squinty from looking into a blacksmiths forge all day. He was nice enough once you got to know him, but no one ever called him Charlie or Chuck or Charles. Most just called him Beckendorf.

Rumor was he could make anything. Give him a chunk of metal and he could create a razor-sharp sword or a robotic warrior or a singing birdbath for your grandmother's garden. Whatever you wanted.

The other cabins filed in: Demeter, Apollo, Aphrodite, Dionysus. Naiads came up from the canoe lake. Dryads melted out of the trees. From the meadow came a dozen satyrs, who reminded Draco painfully of Lucas. Looking at how Percy saw it too, he most been thinking of Grover.

Draco always had a soft spot for the satyrs. When they were at camp, they had to do all kinds of odd jobs for Mr. D, the director, but their most important work was out in the real world. They were the camp's seekers. They went undercover into schools all over the world, looking for potential half-bloods and escorting them back to camp. That's how he'd met Lucas. He had been the first one to bring him to camp when he was running away as a kid. He always thought it was weird how Lucas found him, but the satyr said it was his smell that was strong. Draco was weirded about of why he had a strong smell at a young age but looking back on it. He was pretty big for three almost four year old.

After the satyrs filed in to dinner, the Draco's cabin brought up the rear. They were always the biggest cabin. Last summer, it had been led by Luke, the guy who'd fought with Thalia and Annabeth on top of Half-Blood Hill. For a while, before Poseidon had claimed Percy, he'd lodged in the Hermes cabin too. Luke had befriended him like he had Draco when he learned his age... and then he'd tried to kill Percy.

Now the his cabin was led by Travis and Connor Stoll. They weren't twins, but they looked so much alike it didn't matter (They reminded Draco of a certain pair of ginger twins back at Hogwarts.) Draco thinks Travis is the older one, but he isn't sure. They were both tall and skinny, with mops of brown hair that hung in their eyes. They wore orange CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-shirts untucked over baggy shorts, and they had those elfish features all Hermes's kids had: upturned eyebrows, sarcastic smiles, a gleam in their eyes whenever they looked at you—like they were about to drop a firecracker down your shirt. Draco always thought it was funny that the god of thieves would have kids with the last name "Stoll," but the only time Draco mentioned it to Travis and Connor, they both stared at me blankly like they didn't get the joke.

As soon as the last campers had filed in, Draco saw Percy lead Tyson into the middle of the pavilion.

Conversations faltered. Heads turned. "Who invited that? " somebody at the Apollo table murmured.

Draco glared in their direction, but he couldn't figure out who'd spoken.

From the head table a familiar voice drawled, "Well, well, if it isn't Peter Johnson. My millennium is complete."

Draco saw Percy grit his teeth. "Percy Jackson ... sir."

Mr. D sipped his Diet Coke. "Yes. Well, as you young people say these days: Whatever."

He was wearing his usual leopard-pattern Hawaiian shirt, walking shorts, and tennis shoes with black socks. With his pudgy belly and his blotchy red face, he looked like a Las Vegas tourist who'd stayed up too late in the casinos. Behind him, a nervous-looking satyr was peeling the skins off grapes and handing them to Mr. D one at a time.

Draco sighed and sacrificed all of his food he wasn't hungry, so he used all of his food as an apology to all the 12 Olympic Gods, Hecate, Hestia, and Hades included. Draco putted his head down and stayed like that until Tyson was claimed as a son of Poseidon.

_Wait what...?_

**Aaaannndddd done! Did this at 3:40 A.M. since I couldn't sleep ;-; but anyways I hoped you liked this chapter and if you were wondering I changed the time Percy came to the summertime and not that he's still in school, so just see it as his last day of school...?? -(•-•)/- IDK bye see you on the next chapter!**

**-D**


	9. The Quest

_Draco sighed and sacrificed all of his food he wasn't hungry, so he used all of his food as an apology to all the 12 Olympic Gods, Hecate, Hestia, and Hades included. Draco putted his head down and stayed like that until Tyson was claimed as a son of Poseidon._

_Wait what...?_

**3rd Person P.O.V.**

Days passed and everyday campers at camp would tease Percy tremendously about his 'minter of a brother.' It pissed Draco off and got some bruises for punching the people who did. Both Draco and Annabeth tried to make Percy feel better. Annabeth suggested we team up for the chariot race to take their minds off their problems. Don't get them wrong—they all hated Tantalus and they were worried sick about camp—but they didn't know what to do about it. Until they could come up with some brilliant plan to save Thalia's tree, they figured they might as well go along with the races. After all, Annabeth's mom, Athena, had invented the chariot, and Percy's dad had created horses. Together they could all would own that track.

One morning Annabeth, Draco, and Percy were sitting by the canoe lake sketching chariot designs when some jokers from Aphrodite's cabin walked by and asked Percy if he needed to borrow some eyeliner for his eye ... "Oh sorry, eyes."

As they walked away laughing, Draco went ahead to fight them but was quickly grabbed by his hoodie by Annabeth who grumbled, "Just ignore them, Percy. It isn't your fault you have a monster for a brother."

"He's not my brother!" Percy snapped. "And he's not a monster, either!"

Draco and Annabeth raised their eyebrows. "Hey, don't get mad at me! And technically, he is a monster," Annabeth said.

"Well you gave him permission to enter the camp," Percy muttered. "Actually, I was the one who gave him permission to enter camp, Perce," Draco said grinning sheepishly. Percy glared at him.

"It was because it was the only way to save your life! I mean ... I'm sorry, Percy, I didn't expect Poseidon to claim him," Draco apologized. "Don't apologize Draco, you did the right thing. Besides cyclops are the most hideous and destructive thugs ever," Annabeth said.

"He is not! What have you got against Cyclopes, any-way?" Percy questioned.

Annabeth's ears turned pink. Percy furrowed his eyebrow. "Just forget it," she said. "Now, the axle for this chariot—"

"You're treating him like he's this horrible thing," Percy said. "He saved my life."

Annabeth threw down her pencil and stood. "Then maybe you should design a chariot with him. "

"Maybe I should."

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

She stormed off and left Draco and Percy alone. "C'mon let's finish designing the chariot without her alright?" Draco said, grabbing a pencil and continued sketching away. "Why does she hate cyclops that much anyways?" Percy asked. Draco sighed, "I can't really tell you why since it's not my thing to share, but its complicated... Annabeth just had a bad experience with cyclops." They both stayed quiet the rest of the day.

oOo

The next couple of days, Draco tried to keep his mind off his problems.

Silena Beauregard, one of the nicer girls from Aphrodite's cabin, helped Draco give Percy his first riding lesson on a pegasus. She explained that there was only one immortal winged horse named Pegasus, who still wandered free somewhere in the skies, but over the eons he'd sired a lot of children, none quite so fast or heroic, but all named after the first and greatest.

Being the a wizard and having a sport that involves flying, Draco liked going into the air. But since Percy was a son of Poseidon and this rivalry with Zeus, he tried to stay out of the lord of the sky's domain as much as possible. But riding a winged horse felt different. It didn't make Percy nearly as nervous as being in an airplane. Maybe that was because his dad had created horses out of sea foam, so the pegasi were sort of ... neutral territory.

Percy said he could understand their thoughts. Draco wasn't surprised when Percy's pegasus went galloping over the treetops or chased a flock of seagulls into a cloud.

The problem was that Tyson wanted to ride the "chicken ponies," too, but the pegasi got skittish whenever he approached. Percy told them telepathically that Tyson wouldn't hurt them, but they didn't seem to believe him. That made Tyson cry.

The only person at camp who had no problem with Tyson was Beckendorf from the Hephaestus cabin and himself. The blacksmith god had always worked with Cyclopes in his forges, so Beckendorf took Tyson down to the armory to teach him metalworking. He said he'd have Tyson crafting magic items like a master in no time.

After lunch, Draco worked out in the arena with Apollo's cabin. Swordplay had always been one of his weapon strength. He wasn't as good as Percy, but he wasn't bad either. He at least was able to tease Percy with the fact that he could shot and arrow and hit its target.

Draco was joined by Percy and together they thrashed the Apollo guys easily. They should've been testing themselves against the Ares and Athena cabins, since they had the best sword fighters, but Percy didn't get along with Clarisse and her siblings, and after his argument with Annabeth, Percy just didn't want to see her.

They went to archery class, even though Percy was terrible at it, and it wasn't the same without Chiron teaching. In arts and crafts, Draco used some play to make a form of mask, but it started to break apart even if he placed more clay, so he ditched it. He sometimes scaled the climbing wall in full lava-and-earthquake mode. And in the evenings, he did border patrol. Even though Tantalus had insisted they forget trying to protect the camp, some of the campers had quietly kept it up, working out a schedule during their free times.

Draco and Percy sat at the top of Half-Blood Hill and watched the dryads come and go, singing to the dying pine tree. Satyrs brought their reed pipes and played nature magic songs, and for a while the pine needles seemed to get fuller. The flowers on the hill smelled a little sweeter and the grass looked greener. But as soon as the music stopped, the sickness crept back into the air. The whole hill seemed to be infected, dying from the poison that had sunk into the tree's roots. The longer Draco sat there, the angrier and sadder he got.

Luke had done this. He remembered his sly smile, the dragon-claw scar across his face. He was his first friend and the first one he told his age, but the whole time he'd been Kronos's number-one servant.

The more Draco thought of Luke the more he missed him. He had been a good friend and always made sure to have a time of day, where he'd practice with Draco sword fighting or just talk when he needed it.

There is a new Golden Age coming. Luke won't be part of it.

At night, Percy said he had dreams of Grover. Sometimes, he'll hear Grover's voice, bite he wouldn't tell Draco what it was claiming it was stupid.

The night before the race, Tyson, Draco, and Percy finished their chariot. It was wicked cool. Tyson had made the metal parts in the armory's forges. Percy sanded the wood and put the carriage together. Draco made the design and helped both Tyson and Percy sometimes. It was blue and white, with wave designs on the sides and a trident painted on the front. After all that work, it seemed only fair that Tyson would ride shotgun with Percy, though Draco knew the horses wouldn't like it, and Tyson's extra weight would slow them down.

Draco went to sleep at night, and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen soon. The next day he was right something did happen. Percy had a Demi-God dream and said that he'd seen , Grover who was wearing a wedding dress. And was trapped in a cave with a monster who wanted to make him his wife. He said Grover was lead to tape made by Polyphemus, who made him think he had found Pan, the long lost god of the wild. He said that he needed to find Grover at the Sea of Monsters. Draco paused, "The Sea of Monsters?" He asked Percy quite unsure if he heard right. Percy was about to reply when they arrived at the place where the race was going to be held at. The racetrack had been built in a grassy field between the archery range and the woods.

Hephaestus's cabin had used the bronze bulls, which were completely tame since they'd had their heads smashed in, to plow an oval track in a matter of minutes.

There were rows of stone steps for the spectators— Tantalus, the satyrs, a few dryads, and all of the campers who weren't participating. Mr. D didn't show. He never got up before ten o'clock.

"Right!" Tantalus announced as the teams began to assemble. A naiad had brought him a big platter of pastries, and as Tantalus spoke, his right hand chased a chocolate eclair across the judge's table. "You all know the rules. A quarter-mile track. Twice around to win. Two horses per chariot. Each team will consist of a driver and a fighter. Weapons are allowed. Dirty tricks are expected. But try not to kill anybody!" Tantalus smiled at us like they were all naughty children. "Any killing will result in harsh punishment. No s'mores at the campfire for a week! Now ready your chariots!"

Beckendorf led the Hephaestus team onto the track. They had a sweet ride made of bronze and iron—even the horses, which were magical automatons like the Colchis bulls. Draco had no doubt that their chariot had all kinds of mechanical traps and more fancy options than a fully loaded Maserati.

The Ares chariot was bloodred, and pulled by two grisly horse skeletons. Clarisse climbed aboard with a batch of javelins, spiked balls, caltrops, and a bunch of other nasty toys.

Apollo's chariot was trim and graceful and completely gold, pulled by two beautiful palominos. Their fighter was armed with a bow, though he had promised not to shoot regular pointed arrows at the opposing drivers.

Hermes's chariot was green and kind of old-looking, as if it hadn't been out of the garage in years. It didn't look like anything special, but it was manned by the Stoll brothers, and Draco shuddered to think what dirty tricks they'd schemed up.

That left two chariots: one driven by Annabeth, and the other by Percy.

Before the race began, Draco and Percy tried to approach Annabeth and tell her about Percy's dream.

She perked up when Percy mentioned Grover, but when Percy told her what he'd said, she seemed to get distant again, suspicious.

"You're trying to distract me," she decided.

"What? No I'm not!" Percy said, annoyed that she didn't take him seriously.

"Oh, right! Like Grover would just happen to stumble across the one thing that could save the camp."

"What do you mean?"

She rolled her eyes. "Go back to your chariot, Percy. Draco go to the stadium the race is almost about to start."

"He's not making this up. Grover's in trouble, Annabeth," Draco said trying to make her believe them.

She hesitated. Draco could tell she was trying to decide whether or not to trust them. Despite their occasional fights, Percy and Annabeth had been through a lot together. And Draco knew she would never want anything bad to happen to Grover.

"Percy, an empathy link is so hard to do. I mean, it's more likely you really were dreaming," Annabeth argued.

"The Oracle," Percy said. "We could consult the Oracle."

Annabeth frowned.

Last summer, before Percy's quest, he'd visited the strange spirit that lived in the Big House attic and it had given him a prophecy that came true in ways people never expected. The experience had freaked Percy out for months. Annabeth knew Percy would never suggest going back there if I wasn't completely serious.

Before she could answer, the conch horn sounded.

"Charioteers!" Tantalus called. "To your mark!"

"We'll talk later," Annabeth told them, "after I win."

Draco headed to the seats seeing Percy walking back to his own chariot, Draco frowned as the many more pigeons were in the trees now—screeching like crazy, making the whole forest rustle. Nobody else seemed to be paying them much attention, but they made Draco nervous. Their beaks glinted strangely. Their eyes seemed shinier than regular birds.

Tyson was having trouble getting their horses under control. Percy had to talk to them a long time before they would settle down.

Now, if you've never seen a Greek chariot, it's built for speed, not safety or comfort. It's basically a wooden basket, open at the back, mounted on an axle between two wheels. The driver stands up the whole time, and you can feel every bump in the road. The carriage is made of such light wood that if you wipe out making the hairpin turns at either end of the track, you'll probably tip over and crush both the chariot and yourself. It's an even better rush than skateboarding.

Percy took the reins and maneuvered the chariot to the starting line. He gave Tyson a ten-foot pole and told him something Draco couldn't make up.

As the chariots lined up, more shiny-eyed pigeons gathered in the woods. They were screeching so loudly the campers in the stands were starting to take notice, glancing nervously at the trees, which shivered under the weight of the birds. Tantalus didn't look concerned, but he did have to speak up to be heard over the noise.

"Charioteers!" he shouted. "Attend your mark!"

He waved his hand and the starting signal dropped. The chariots roared to life. Hooves thundered against the dirt. The crowd cheered.

Almost immediately there was a loud nasty crack! I looked back in time to see the Apollo chariot flip over. The Hermes chariot had rammed into it—maybe by mistake, maybe not. The riders were thrown free, but their panicked horses dragged the golden chariot diagonally across the track.

The Hermes team, Travis and Connor Stoll, were laughing at their good luck, but not for long. The Apollo horses crashed into theirs, and the Hermes chariot flipped too, leaving a pile of broken wood and four rearing horses in the dust.

Two chariots down in the first twenty feet. Draco loved this sport.

Draco turned his attention back to the frontline of the race. Percy and Tyson were making good time, pulling ahead of Ares, but Annabeth's chariot was way ahead of them. She was already making her turn around the first post, her javelin man grinning and waving at us, shouting: "See ya!"

The Hephaestus chariot was starting to gain on them, too.

Beckendorf pressed a button, and a panel slid open on the side of his chariot.

"Sorry, Percy!" he yelled. Three sets of balls and chains shot straight toward our wheels.

They would've wrecked them completely if Tyson hadn't whacked them aside with a quick swipe of his pole. He gave the Hephaestus chariot a good shove and sent them skittering sideways while we pulled ahead.

"Nice work, Tyson!" Draco surprisingly could hear Percy yell.

"Birds!" Tyson cried.

"What?" Draco muttered.

Tyson pointed toward the woods and Draco saw what he was worried about. The pigeons had risen from the trees. They were spiraling like a huge tornado, heading toward the track.

Draco ran and yelled, "Everyone hide somewhere the birds are Stymphalian birds!They'll strip everyone to bones if we don't drive them away!" That got the campers running and went down the seats and batted away the birds that got to close to them.

Draco saw Percy and Tyson make their first turn, the wheels creaking under them, the chariot threatening to tip, but they were now only ten feet behind Annabeth. If Percy could just get a little closer, Tyson could use his pole...

Annabeth's fighter wasn't smiling now. He pulled a javelin from his collection and took aim at Percy. He was about to throw when Draco heard the screaming.

The pigeons were swarming—thousands of them dive-bombing the spectators in the stands, attacking the other chariots. Beckendorf was mobbed. His fighter tried to bat the birds away but he couldn't see anything. The chariot veered off course and plowed through the strawberry fields, the mechanical horses steaming.

In the Ares chariot, Clarisse barked an order to her fighter, who quickly threw a screen of camouflage netting over their basket. The birds swarmed around it, pecking and clawing at the fighter's hands as he tried to hold up the net, but Clarisse just gritted her teeth and kept driving. Her skeletal horses seemed immune to the distraction. The pigeons pecked uselessly at their empty eye sockets and flew through their rib cages, but the stallions kept right on running.

"Stymphalian birds!" Annabeth yelled. She slowed down and pulled her chariot alongside mine. "They'll strip everyone to bones if we don't drive them away!"

Annabeth rode right next to Percy. She shouted, "Heroes, to arms!" But Draco wasn't sure anyone could hear her over the screeching of the birds and the general chaos. Draco wasn't sure if he had a moment of panic and made the worst decision ever, but he started running towards them. Taking a dagger he had in his shorts out and swinging it at the birds that came close to him.

Draco slashed them out of the air and they exploded into dust and feathers, but there were still millions of them left. One nailed him in the back end and he almost jumped straight into one of the chariots.

Annabeth wasn't having much better luck. The closer they got to Draco, the thicker the cloud of birds became.

Some of the spectators were trying to fight back. The Athena campers were calling for shields. The archers from Apollo's cabin brought out their bows and arrows, ready to slay the menace, but with so many campers mixed in with the birds, it wasn't safe to shoot.

"Too many!" Percy yelled to Annabeth. "How do you get rid of them?" By this point Draco was able to jump into one of the empty chariots that the fighters left for safety. He slashed at the birds next to the horses and rode next to Annabeth and Percy.

Annabeth stabbed at a pigeon with her knife. "Hercules used noise! Brass bells! He scared them away with the most horrible sound he could—"

Draco's eyes got wide. "Percy, Annabeth... Chiron's collection!"

They understood instantly. "You think it'll work?" Percy asked.

Annabeth handed her fighter the reins and leaped from her chariot into Draco's like it was the easiest thing in the world. "To the Big House! It's our only chance!" She yelled.

Clarisse has just pulled across the finish line, completely unopposed, and seemed to notice for the first time how serious the bird problem was.

When she saw them driving away, she yelled, "You're running? The fight is here, cowards!"

She drew her sword and charged for the stands.

Percy urged their horses into a gallop. The chariot rumbled through the strawberry fields, across the volleyball pit, and lurched to a halt in front of the Big House. They ran inside, tearing down the hallway to Chiron's apartment.

His boom box was still on his nightstand. So were his favorite CDs. Percy grabbed the most repulsive one he could find, Annabeth snatched the boom box, and together they ran back outside.

Down at the track, the chariots were in flames. Wounded campers ran in every direction, with birds shredding their clothes and pulling out their hair, while Tantalus chased breakfast pastries around the stands, every once in a while yelling, "Everything's under control! Not to worry.'"

We pulled up to the finish line. Annabeth got the boom box ready. Draco prayed the batteries weren't dead.

He pressed PLAY and started up Chiron's favorite—the All-Time Greatest Hits of Dean Martin.

Suddenly the air was filled with violins and a bunch of guys moaning in Italian.

The demon pigeons went nuts. They started flying in circles, running into each other like they wanted to bash their own brains out. Then they abandoned the track altogether and flew skyward in a huge dark wave.

"Now!" shouted Annabeth. "Archers!"

With clear targets, Apollo's archers had flawless aim. Most of them could nock five or six arrows at once. Within minutes, the ground was littered with dead bronze-beaked pigeons, and the survivors were a distant trail of smoke on the horizon.

The camp was saved, but the wreckage wasn't pretty. Most of the chariots had been completely destroyed. Almost everyone was wounded, bleeding from multiple bird pecks. The kids from Aphrodite's cabin were screaming because their hairdos had been ruined and their clothes pooped on.

"Bravo!" Tantalus said, but he wasn't looking at Draco, Percy, nor Annabeth. "We have our first winner!"

He walked to the finish line and awarded the golden laurels for the race to a stunned-looking Clarisse.

Then he turned and smiled at them. "And now to punish the troublemakers who disrupted this race."

The way Tantalus saw it, the Stymphalian birds had simply been minding their own business in the woods and would not have attacked if Annabeth, Tyson, Draco, and Percy hadn't disturbed them with their bad chariot driving.

This was so completely unfair, Percy told Tantalus to go chase a doughnut, which didn't help his mood. He sentenced them to kitchen patrol—scrubbing pots and platters all afternoon in the underground kitchen with the cleaning harpies. The harpies washed with lava instead of water, to get that extra-clean sparkle and kill ninety-nine point nine percent of all germs, so they had to wear asbestos gloves and aprons.

Tyson didn't mind. He plunged his bare hands right in and started scrubbing, but Annabeth, Draco, and Percy had to suffer through hours of hot, dangerous work, especially since there were tons of extra plates. Tantalus had ordered a special luncheon banquet to celebrate Clarisse's chariot victory—a full-course meal featuring country-fried Stymphalian death-bird.

The only good thing about their punishment was that it gave Annabeth and Percy a common enemy and lots of time to talk. After listening to Percy's dream about Grover again, she looked like she might be starting to believe them.

"If he's really found it," she murmured, "and if we could retrieve it—"

"Hold on," Percy said. "You act like this ... whatever-it-is Grover found is the only thing in the world that could save the camp. What is it?"

"You didn't tell him?" She questioned Draco. "No, I was going to buy them the race and bird accident happened," he smiled sheepishly.

"I'll give you a hint. What do you get when you skin a ram?" Annabeth asked Percy.

"Messy?" Percy guesses.

Draco sighed. " A fleece. The coat of a ram is called a fleece. And if that ram happens to have golden wool—"

"The Golden Fleece. Are you serious?" Percy interrupted.

Draco scrapped a plateful of death-bird bones into the lava. "Percy, remember the Gray Sisters? They said they knew the location of the thing you seek. And they mentioned Jason. Three thousand years ago, they told him how to find the Golden Fleece. You do know the story of Jason and the Argonauts?" Annabeth questioned.

"Yeah," Percy said. "That old movie with the clay skeletons."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Oh my gods, Percy! You are so hopeless."

"What?" Percy demanded.

"Just listen. The real story of the Fleece: there were these two children of Zeus, Cadmus and Europa, okay? They were about to get offered up as human sacrifices, when they prayed to Zeus to save them. So Zeus sent this magical flying ram with golden wool, which picked them up in Greece and carried them all the way to Colchis in Asia Minor. Well, actually it carried Cadmus. Europa fell off and died along the way, but that's not important," Draco explained.

"It was probably important to her," Percy said.

"The point is, when Cadmus got to Colchis, he sacrificed the golden ram to the gods and hung the Fleece in a tree in the middle of the kingdom. The Fleece brought prosperity to the land. Animals stopped getting sick. Plants grew better. Farmers had bumper crops. Plagues never visited. That's why Jason wanted the Fleece. It can revitalize any land where it's placed. It cures sickness, strengthens nature, cleans up pollution—"

"It could cure Thalia's tree," Annabeth said.

Draco nodded. "And it would totally strengthen the borders of Camp Half-Blood. But Percy, the Fleece has been missing for centuries. Tons of heroes have searched for it with no luck."

"But Grover found it," Percy said. "He went looking for Pan and he found the Fleece instead because they both radiate nature magic. It makes sense, Annabeth, Draco. We can rescue him and save the camp at the same time. It's perfect!"

Annabeth hesitated. "A little too perfect, don't you think? What if it's a trap?"

"What choice do we have?" Percy asked. "Are you going to help me rescue Grover or not?"

"I will," Draco said as Annabeth glanced at Tyson, who'd lost interest in our conversation and was happily making toy boats out of cups and spoons in the lava.

"Percy," Annabeth said under her breath, "we'll have to fight a Cyclops. Polyphemus, the worst of the Cyclopes. And there's only one place his island could be. The Sea of Monsters."

"Where's that?"

Draco and Annabeth stared at Percy, "The Sea of Monsters. The same sea Odysseus sailed through, and Jason, and Aeneas, and all the others."

"You mean the Mediterranean?" Percy questioned.

"No. Well, yes ... but no," Draco trailed off.

"Another straight answer. Thanks," Percy said sassily.

"Look, Percy, the Sea of Monsters is the sea all heroes sail through on their adventures. It used to be in the Mediterranean, yes. But like everything else, it shifts locations as the West's center of power shifts," Draco said.

"Like Mount Olympus being above the Empire State Building," Percy said. "And Hades being under Los Angeles."

"Right," Annabeth agreed.

"But a whole sea full of monsters—how could you hide something like that? Wouldn't the mortals notice weird things happening ... like, ships getting eaten and stuff?" Percy asked.

"Of course they notice. They don't understand, but they know something is strange about that part of the ocean. The Sea of Monsters is off the east coast of the U.S. now, just northeast of Florida. The mug-mortals even have a name for it," Draco said stopping slightly at his mess up.

"The Bermuda Triangle?" Percy asked.

"Exactly," Annabeth said.

"Okay ... so at least we know where to look," Percy said, scrubbing at some of the stuck grease on the plate.

"It's still a huge area, Percy. Searching for one tiny island in monster-infested waters—" Annabeth got cut off.

"Hey, I'm the son of the sea god. This is my home turf. How hard can it be?" Percy asked, shrugging.

Draco raised an eyebrow while Annabeth knit her eyebrows. "We'll have to talk to Tantalus, get approval for a quest. He'll say no."

"Not if we tell him tonight at the campfire in front of everybody. The whole camp will hear.

They'll pressure him. He won't be able to refuse," Percy concludes.

"Maybe." A little bit of hope crept into Annabeth's voice. "We'd better get these dishes done. Hand me the lava spray gun, will you, Draco?"

That night at the campfire, Apollo's cabin led the sing-along. They tried to get everybody's spirits up, but it wasn't easy after that afternoon's bird attack. They all sat around a semicircle of stone steps, singing halfheartedly and watching the bonfire blaze while the Apollo guys strummed their guitars and picked their lyres.

They did all the standard camp numbers: "Down by the Aegean," "I Am My Own Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandpa," "This Land is Minos's Land." The bonfire was enchanted, so the louder you sang, the higher it rose, changing color and heat with the mood of the crowd. On a good night, Draco had seen it twenty feet high, bright purple, and so hot the whole front row's marshmallows burst into the flames. Tonight, the fire was only five feet high, barely warm, and the flames were the color of lint.

Dionysus left early. After suffering through a few songs, he muttered something about how even pinochle with Chiron had been more exciting than this. Then he gave Tantalus a distasteful look and headed back toward the Big House.

When the last song was over, Tantalus said, "Well, that was lovely!"

He came forward with a toasted marshmallow on a stick and tried to pluck it off, real casual-like. But before he could touch it, the marshmallow flew off the stick. Tantalus made a wild grab, but the marshmallow committed suicide, diving into the flames.

Tantalus turned back toward them, smiling coldly. "Now then! Some announcements about tomorrow's schedule."

"Sir," Percy said.

Tantalus's eye twitched. "Our kitchen boy has something to say?"

Some of the Ares campers snickered, but Draco knew Percy wasn't going to let anybody embarrass him into silence. He stood and looked at Annabeth. Thank the gods, she stood up with them.

Percy said, "We have an idea to save the camp."

Dead silence, but Draco could tell they'd gotten everybody's interest, because the campfire flared bright yellow.

"Indeed," Tantalus said blandly. "Well, if it has anything to do with chariots—"

"The Golden Fleece," Percy said. "We know where it is."

The flames burned orange. Before Tantalus could stop them, Percy blurted out his dream about Grover and Polyphemus's island. Annabeth and Draco stepped in and reminded everybody what the Fleece could do. It sounded more convincing coming from her, after all she was a daughter of Athena.

"The Fleece can save the camp," she concluded. "I'm certain of it."

"Nonsense," said Tantalus. "We don't need saving."

Everybody stared at him until Tantalus started looking uncomfortable.

"Besides," he added quickly, "the Sea of Monsters? That's hardly an exact location. You wouldn't even know where to look."

"Yes, I would," Percy said.

Annabeth leaned toward Percy and whispered, "You would?"

Percy nodded, and said, "30, 31, 75, 12,"

"Ooo-kay," Tantalus said. "Thank you for sharing those meaningless numbers."

"They're sailing coordinates," Percy said. "Latitude and longitude. I, uh, learned about it in social studies."

Even Annabeth looked impressed. "30 degrees, 31 minutes north, 75 degrees, 12 minutes west. He's right! The Gray Sisters gave us those coordinates. That'd be somewhere in the Atlantic, off the coast of Florida. The Sea of Monsters. We need a quest!"

"Wait just a minute," Tantalus said.

But the campers took up the chant. "We need a quest! We need a quest!"

The flames rose higher.

"It isn't necessary!" Tantalus insisted.

"Fine!" Tantalus shouted, his eyes blazing with anger. "You brats want me to assign a quest?"

"YES!"

"Very well," he agreed. "I shall authorize a champion to undertake this perilous journey, to retrieve the Golden Fleece and bring it back to camp. Or die trying."

Draco's heart filled with excitement. He wasn't going to let Tantalus scare me. This was what they needed to do. They were going to save Grover and the camp. Nothing would stop them.

"I will allow our champion to consult the Oracle!" Tantalus announced. "And choose two companions for the journey. And I think the choice of champion is obvious."

Tantalus looked at Annabeth, Draco, and Percy as if he wanted to flay them alive. "The champion should be one who has earned the camp's respect, who has proven resourceful in the chariot races and courageous in the defense of the camp. You shall lead this quest ... Clarisse!"

The fire flickered a thousand different colors. The Ares cabin started stomping and cheering,

"CLARISSE! CLARISSE!"

Clarisse stood up, looking stunned. Then she swallowed, and her chest swelled with pride. "I accept the quest!"

"Wait!" Percy shouted. "Grover is my friend. The dream came to me."

"Sit down!" yelled one of the Ares campers. "You had your chance last summer!"

"Yeah, he just wants to be in the spotlight again!" another said.

Clarisse glared at me. "I accept the quest!" she repeated. "I, Clarisse, daughter of Ares, will save the camp!"

The Ares campers cheered even louder. Draco and Annabeth protested, and the other Athena campers joined in. Everybody else started taking sides—shouting and arguing and throwing marshmallows. Draco thought it was going to turn into a full-fledged s'more war until Tantalus shouted, "Silence, you brats!"

His tone stunned even Draco.

"Sit down!" he ordered. "And I will tell you a ghost story."

He didn't know what he was up to, but they all moved reluctantly back to their seats. The evil aura radiating from Tantalus was as strong as any monster or wizard Draco had ever faced.

"Once upon a time there was a mortal king who was beloved of the Gods!" Tantalus put his hand on his chest, and Draco got the feeling he was talking about himself.

"This king," he said, "was even allowed to feast on Mount Olympus. But when he tried to take some ambrosia and nectar back to earth to figure out the recipe—just one little doggie bag, mind you—the gods punished him. They banned him from their halls forever! His own people mocked him! His children scolded him! And, oh yes, campers, he had horrible children. Children—just—like— you."

He pointed a crooked finger at several people in the audience, including Draco.

"Do you know what he did to his ungrateful children?" Tantalus asked softly. "Do you know how he paid back the gods for their cruel punishment? He invited the Olympians to a feast at his palace, just to show there were no hard feelings. No one noticed that his children were missing. And when he served the gods dinner, my dear campers, can you guess what was in the stew?"

No one dared answer. The firelight glowed dark blue, reflecting evilly on Tantalus's crooked face.

"Oh, the gods punished him in the afterlife," Tantalus croaked. "They did indeed. But he'd had his moment of satisfaction, hadn't he? His children never again spoke back to him or questioned his authority. And do you know what? Rumor has it that the king's spirit now dwells at this very camp, waiting for a chance to take revenge on ungrateful, rebellious children. And so ... are there any more complaints, before we send Clarisse off on her quest?"

Silence.

Tantalus nodded at Clarisse. "The Oracle, my dear. Go on."

She shifted uncomfortably, like even she didn't want glory at the price of being Tantalus's pet. "Sir—"

"Go!" he snarled.

She bowed awkwardly and hurried off toward the Big House.

"What about you, Percy Jackson?" Tantalus asked. "No comments from our dishwasher?"

Percy didn't say anything. He wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of punishing him again.

"Good," Tantalus said. "And let me remind everyone— no one leaves this camp without my permission. Anyone who tries ... well, if they survive the attempt, they will be expelled forever, but it won't come to that. The harpies will be enforcing curfew from now on, and they are always hungry! Good night, my dear campers. Sleep well."

With a wave of Tantalus's hand, the fire was extinguished, and the campers trailed off toward their cabins in the dark.

Draco headed to the Hermes cabin, his sleeping bag was squashed by another camper that was next to him. He grumbled angrily and grabbed his sleeping bag along with his bag and left the cabin. He wasn't in the mood to be squished to death in his sleep he'd rather sleep outside, even if it gets him in trouble for sneaking out after curfew. Draco carefully made his way to the beach it was the place that was searched the least, and had a gorgeous view at night. He set his sleeping bag and bag and sat down on it. Draco felt someone else's presence and turned around, there he found Percy with a blue blanket and a six- pack of cokes. "Couldn't sleep either, huh?" He asked. "Nah, too much on my mind," Percy said handing Draco a can of coke. Draco said a small thanks and opened the van sipping it. "I wished Poseidon would talk to me, give me some advice or something," Percy said. Draco glanced at Percy them back at the ocean. He said nothing and just went and laid down with Percy on his blanket.

He searched the constellations he knew where their in the summer. It was one of the things his mother did teach him herself, he was named after one after all. He started to think the names of the constellations—Sagittarius, Hercules, Corona Borealis—when somebody said, "Beautiful, aren't they?" Draco along with Percy almost spewed soda.

Standing right next to them was a guy in nylon running shorts and a New York City Marathon T-shirt. He was slim and fit, with salt-and-pepper hair and a sly smile. He looked kind of familiar, but Draco couldn't figure out why. It took Draco a while before he he stuttered, "L-Lord Hermes?"

Hermes just smiled and asked, "May I join you? I haven't sat down in ages."

"Uh, sure," Percy said, just as dumbfounded as Draco. Why was a God here?

"Your hospitality does you credit. Oh, and Coca-Cola! May I?" Hermes asked. Draco nodded hesitantly.

He sat at the other end of the blanket, popped a soda and took a drink. "Ah ... that hits the spot. Peace and quiet at—"

A cell phone went off in his pocket.

The messenger sighed. He pulled out his phone and two snakes slithered out of his shirt into his hand. "I've got to take this. Just a sec ..." Then into the phone: "Hello?"

He listened. The mini-snakes writhed up and down the antenna right next to his ear.

"Yeah," the messenger said. "Listen—I know, but... I don't care if he is chained to a rock with vultures pecking at his liver, if he doesn't have a tracking number, we can't locate his package... A gift to humankind, great... You know how many of those we deliver—Oh, never mind. Listen, just refer him to Eris in customer service. I gotta go."

He hung up. "Sorry. The overnight express business is just booming. Now, as I was saying—"

"You have snakes on your phone," Percy pointed out.

"What? Oh, they don't bite. Say hello, George and Martha," the messenger said.

Hello, George and Martha, a raspy male voice said inside Draco's head.

Don't be sarcastic, said a female voice.

Why not? George demanded. I do all the real work.

"Oh, let's not go into that again!" The messenger slipped his phone back into his pocket. "Now, where were we ... Ah, yes. Peace and quiet."

He crossed his ankles and stared up at the stars. "Been a long time since I've gotten to relax. Ever since the telegraph—rush, rush, rush. Do you have a favorite constellation, Percy, Draco?"

"Uh, I like Hercules," Percy said.

"Why?" The messenger God asked.

"Well ... because he had rotten luck. Even worse than mine. It makes me feel better," Percy said.

The messenger chuckled. "Not because he was strong and famous and all that?"

"No," Percy answered shortly.

"What about you Draco? No never mind Draconis right?" The messenger asked. Draco only nodded, he wasn't lying entirely he did like dragons.

"You both are interesting young man. And so, what now?" The messenger asked.

Before Draco could even think of something to talk about, Martha the snake's muffled voice came from his pocket: I have Demeter on line two.

"Not now," the messenger said. "Tell her to leave a message."

She's not going to like that. The last time you put her off, all the flowers in the floral delivery division wilted.

"Just tell her I'm in a meeting!" The messenger rolled his eyes. "Sorry again, Percy, Draco. You were saying ..."

"Um ... who are you, exactly?" Percy asked. Draco nudged Percy, "That's Lord Hermes, Luke's father," Draco hissed at Percy.

Hermes laughed a bit and then took out his phone. The phone glowed a brilliant blue. It stretched into a three-foot-long wooden staff with dove wings sprouting out the top. George and Martha, now full-sized green snakes, coiled together around the middle. It was a caduceus, the symbol of Cabin Eleven.

The god pursed his lips. He stuck his caduceus in the sand like an umbrella pole. "'Luke's father.' Normally, that's not the first way people introduce me. God of thieves, yes. God of messengers and travelers, if they wish to be kind."

God of thieves works, George said.

Oh, don't mind George. Martha flicked her tongue at me. He's just bitter because Hermes likes me best.

He does not!

Does too!

"Behave, you two," Hermes warned, "or I'll turn you back into a cell phone and set you on vibrate! Now, Percy, Draco, you still haven't answered my question. What do you intend to do about the quest?"

"I—I don't have permission to go," Percy stuttered. Draco stayed quite.

"No, indeed. Will that stop you?" The Od asked.

"We want to go. We have to save Grover," both males said at the same time.

Hermes smiled. "I knew a boy once ... oh, younger than you by far. A mere baby, really."

Here we go again, George said. Always talking about himself Quiet! Martha snapped. Do you want to get set on vibrate?

Hermes ignored them. "One night, when this boy's mother wasn't watching, he sneaked out of their cave and stole some cattle that belonged to Apollo."

"Did he get blasted to tiny pieces?" Percy asked.

"Hmm ... no. Actually, everything turned out quite well. To make up for his theft, the boy gave Apollo an instrument he'd invented—a lyre. Apollo was so enchanted with the music that he forgot all about being angry."

"So what's the moral?" Percy asked. Draco face-slapped himself, shaking his head.

"The moral?" Hermes asked. "Goodness, you act like it's a fable. It's a true story. Does truth have a moral?"

"Um ..." Percy looked aside not having and answer.

"How about this: stealing is not always bad?" Hermes asked.

"I don't think my mom would like that moral," Percy said. Draco laughed and said, "Depends in what I need it for."

Rats are delicious, suggested George.

What does that have to do with the story? Martha demanded.

Nothing, George said. But I'm hungry.

"I've got it," Hermes said. "Young people don't always do what they're told, but if they can pull it off and do something wonderful, sometimes they escape punishment. How's that?"

"You're saying I should go anyway," Peecy said, "even without permission."

Hermes's eyes twinkled. "Martha, may I have the first package, please?"

Martha opened her mouth ... and kept opening it until it was as wide as Percy's arm. She belched out a stainless steel canister—an old-fashioned lunch box thermos with a black plastic top. The sides of the thermos were enameled with red and yellow Ancient Greek scenes—a hero killing a lion; a hero lifting up Cerberus, the three-headed dog.

"That's Hercules," Percy said. "But how—"

"Never question a gift," Hermes chided. "This is a collector's item from Hercules Busts Heads. The first season."

"Hercules Busts Heads?" Percy asked.

"Great show." Hermes sighed. "Back before Hephaestus-TV was all reality programming. Of course, the thermos would be worth much more if I had the whole lunch box—"

Or if it hadn't been in Martha's mouth, George added.

I'll get you for that. Martha began chasing him around the caduceus.

"Wait a minute," Percy said. "This is a gift?"

"One of two," Hermes said. "Go on, pick it up."

Draco almost dropped it because it was freezing cold on one side and burning hot on the other.

The weird thing was, when He turned the thermos, the side facing the ocean— north—was always the cold side...

"It's a compass!" Percy said.

Hermes looked surprised. "Very clever. I never thought of that. But its intended use is a bit more dramatic. Uncap it, and you will release the winds from the four corners of the earth to speed you on your way. Not now! And please, when the time comes, only unscrew the lid a tiny bit. The winds are a bit like me—always restless. Should all four escape at once ... ah, but I'm sure you'll be careful. And now my second gift. George?"

She's touching me, George complained as he and Martha slithered around the pole.

"She's always touching you," Hermes said. "You're intertwined. And if you don't stop that, you'll get knotted again!

The snakes stopped wrestling.

George unhinged his jaw and coughed up a little plastic bottle filled with chewable vitamins.

"You're kidding," Percy said. "Are those Minotaur-shaped?"

Hermes picked up the bottle and rattled it. "The lemon ones, yes. The grape ones are Furies, I think. Or are they hydras? At any rate, these are potent. Don't take one unless you really, really need it."

"How will we know if we really, really need it?" Draco asked.

"You'll know, believe me. Nine essential vitamins, minerals, amino acids ... oh, everything you need to feel yourself again."

He tossed Percy the bottle.

"Um, thanks," Percy said. "But Lord Hermes, why are you helping me?"

He gave me a melancholy smile. "Perhaps because I hope that you can save many people on this quest, Percy. Not just your friend Grover."

Draco stared at him. "You don't mean ... Luke?"

Hermes didn't answer.

"Look," Percy said. "Lord Hermes, I mean, thanks and everything, but you might as well take back your gifts. Luke can't be saved. Even if I could find him ... he told me he wanted to tear down Olympus stone by stone. He betrayed everybody he knew. He—he hates you especially."

Hermes gazed up at the stars. "My dear young cousin, if there's one thing I've learned over the eons, it's that you can't give up on your family, no matter how tempting they make it. It doesn't matter if they hate you, or embarrass you, or simply don't appreciate your genius for inventing the Internet—"

"You invented the Internet?" Percy interrupted.

It was my idea, Martha said.

Rats are delicious, George said.

"It was my idea!" Hermes said. "I mean the Internet, not the rats. But that's not the point. Percy, do you understand what I'm saying about family?"

"I—I'm not sure," Percy stampers.

"You will some day." Hermes got up and brushed the sand off his legs. "In the meantime, I must be going."

You have sixty calls to return, Martha said.

And one thousand-thirty-eight e-mails, George added. Not counting the offers for online discount ambrosia.

"And you, Draco, Percy," Hermes said, "have a shorter deadline than both realize to complete your quest. Your friends should be coming right about ... now."

Draco heard Annabeth's voice calling their name from the sand dunes. Tyson, too, was shouting from a little bit farther away.

"I hope I packed well for you," Hermes said. "I do have some experience with travel."

He snapped his fingers and three yellow duffel bags appeared at my feet. "Waterproof, of course. If you ask nicely, your father should be able to help you reach the ship."

"Ship?" Draco asked.

Hermes pointed. Sure enough, a big cruise ship was cutting across Long Island Sound, its white-and-gold lights glowing against the dark water.

"Wait," Percy said. "I don't understand any of this. I haven't even agreed to go!"

"I'd make up your mind in the next five minutes, if I were you," Hermes advised. "That's when the harpies will come to eat you. Now, good night, cousin, and dare I say it? May the gods go with you."

He opened his hand and the caduceus flew into it.

Good luck, Martha told me.

Bring me back a rat, George said.

The caduceus changed into a cell phone and Hermes slipped it into his pocket.

He jogged off down the beach. Twenty paces away, he shimmered and vanished, leaving them alone with a thermos, a bottle of chewable vitamins, and five minutes to make an impossible decision.

Both males were staring at the waves when Annabeth and Tyson found them.

"What's going on?" Annabeth asked. "I heard you calling for help!"

"Me, too!" Tyson said. "Heard you yell, 'Bad things are attacking!'"

"We didn't call you guys," Percy said. "We're fine."

"But then who ..." Annabeth noticed the four yellow duffel bags, then the thermos Draco was holding and the bottle of vitamins Percy was holding. "What—"

"Just listen," Percy said. "We don't have much time."

Percy told them about their conversation with Hermes. By the time he was finished, Draco could hear screeching in the distance—patrol harpies picking up our scent.

"Percy, Draco," Annabeth said, "we have to do the quest."

"We'll get expelled, you know. Trust me, I'm an expert at getting expelled," Percy said.

"So? If we fail, there won't be any camp to come back to," Annabeth said.

"Yeah, but you promised Chiron—"

"I promised I'd keep you from danger. I can only do that by coming with you! Tyson can stay behind and tell them—"

"I want to go," Tyson said.

"No!" Annabeth's voice sounded close to panic. "I mean ... Percy, Draco, come on. You guys know that's impossible."

Annabeth and Tyson both looked at them, waiting for an answer. Meanwhile, the cruise ship was getting farther and farther away.

The thing was, part of Draco didn't want Tyson along. Tyson was new to this Demi-God lifestyle and he didn't want him to be hurt. Plus, he didn't know how much help he'd be, or how they would keep him safe. Sure, he was strong, but Tyson was a little kid in Cyclops terms, maybe seven or eight years old, mentally. Draco could see him freaking out and starting to cry while we were trying to sneak past a monster or something. He'd get them all killed.

On the other hand, the sound of the harpies was getting closer...

"We can't leave him," Percy decided. "Tantalus will punish him for us being gone."

"Percy," Annabeth said, trying to keep her cool, "we're going to Polyphemus's island!

Polyphemus is an S-i-k ... a C-y-k..." She stamped her foot in frustration. "C-Y-C-L-O-P-S," Draco spelled for her. As smart as she was, Annabeth was dyslexic, and they could've been there all night while she tried to spell Cyclops. "You know what I mean!"

"Tyson can go," Draco insisted, "if he wants to."

Tyson clapped his hands. "Want to!"

Annabeth gave Draco and Percy the evil eye, but he guess she could tell they weren't going to change their mind.

Or maybe she just knew we didn't have time to argue.

"All right," she said. "How do we get to that ship?"

"Hermes said my father would help," Percy said.

"Well then, Seaweed Brain? What are you waiting for?"

Draco and Annabeth both waited for Percy.

"Urn, Dad?" he called. "How's it going?"

"Percy!" Annabeth whispered. "We're in a hurry!"

"We need your help," Percy called a little louder. "We need to get to that ship, like, before we get eaten and stuff, so ..."

At first, nothing happened. Waves crashed against the shore like normal. The harpies sounded like they were right behind the sand dunes. Then, about a hundred yards out to sea, three white lines appeared on the surface. They moved fast toward the shore, like claws ripping through the ocean.

As they neared the beach, the surf burst apart and the heads of three white stallions reared out of the waves.

Tyson caught his breath. "Fish ponies!"

He was right. As the creatures pulled themselves onto the sand, Draco saw that they were only horses in the front; their back halves were silvery fish bodies, with glistening scales and rainbow tail fins.

"Hippocampi!" Annabeth said. "They're beautiful."

The nearest one whinnied in appreciation and nuzzled Annabeth. "They sure are," Draco said smiling as one nuzzled him too.

"We'll admire them later," Percy said. "Come on!"

"There!" a voice screeched behind us. "Bad children out of cabins! Snack time for lucky harpies!"

Five of them were fluttering over the top of the dunes—plump little hags with pinched faces and talons and feathery wings too small for their bodies. They reminded Draco of miniature house elves who'd been crossbred with dodo birds. They weren't very fast, thank the gods, but they were vicious if they caught you.

"Tyson!" Percy said. "Grab a duffel bag!"

He was still staring at the hippocampi with his mouth hanging open, "Tyson!"

"Uh?"

"Come on!"

With Annabeth's help Draco and Percy got him moving. They gathered the bags and mounted their steeds.

Poseidon must've known Tyson was one of the passengers, because one hippocampus was much larger than the other two—just right for carrying a Cyclops.

"Giddyup!" Percy said. His hippocampus turned and plunged into the waves. Draco's, Annabeth's, and Tyson's followed right behind.

The harpies cursed at them, wailing for their snacks to come back, but the hippocampi raced over the water at the speed of Jet Skis. The harpies fell behind, and soon the shore of Camp Half-Blood was nothing but a dark smudge. Draco wondered if he'd ever see the place again. But right now they had other problems.

The cruise ship was now looming in front of them—our ride toward Florida and the Sea of Monsters.

Riding the hippocampus was even easier than riding a pegasus. They zipped along with the wind in our faces, speeding through the waves so smooth and steady Draco hardly needed to hold on at all.

As they got closer to the cruise ship, Draco realized just how huge it was. He felt as though he were looking up at Hogwarts back in his first year again. The white hull was at least ten stories tall, topped with another dozen levels of decks with brightly lit balconies and portholes. The ship's name was painted just above the bow line in black letters, lit with a spotlight. He quickly decipher it:

PRINCESS ANDROMEDA

Attached to the bow was a huge masthead—a three-story-tall woman wearing a white Greek chiton, sculpted to look as if she were chained to the front of the ship. She was young and beautiful, with flowing black hair, but her expression was one of absolute terror. Why anybody would want a screaming princess on the front of their vacation ship, Draco had no idea.

Draco remembered the myth about Andromeda and how she had been chained to a rock by her own parents as a sacrifice to a sea monster. Maybe she'd been an unwanted child and was only born because abortion wasn't an option back in the day. Anyway, Percy's namesake, Perseus, had saved her just in time and turned the sea monster to stone using the head of Medusa.

The original Perseus was one of the only heroes in the Greek myths who got a happy ending. The others died—betrayed, mauled, mutilated, poisoned, or cursed by the gods.

"How do we get aboard?" Annabeth shouted over the noise of the waves, but the hippocampi seemed to know what they needed. They skimmed along the starboard side of the ship, riding easily through its huge wake, and pulled up next to a service ladder riveted to the side of the hull.

"You first," Percy told Annabeth.

She slung her duffel bag over her shoulder and grabbed the bottom rung. Once she'd hoisted herself onto the ladder, her hippocampus whinnied a farewell and dove underwater.

Annabeth began to climb. Percy let her get a few rungs up, then followed her. Draco then grabbed his bags and followed them.

Finally it was just Tyson in the water. His hippocampus was treating him to 360 aerials and backward ollies, and Tyson was laughing so hysterically, the sound echoed up the side of the ship.

"Tyson, shhh!" Percy said. "Come on, big guy!"

"Can't we take Rainbow?" he asked, his smile fading.

Percy stared at him. "Rainbow?"

The hippocampus whinnied as if he liked his new name.

"Um, we have to go," Percy said. "Rainbow ... well, he can't climb ladders."

Tyson sniffled. He buried his face in the hippocampus's mane. "I will miss you, Rainbow!"

The hippocampus made a neighing sound Draco could've sworn was crying.

"Maybe we'll see him again sometime," Percy suggested.

"Oh, please!" Tyson said, perking up immediately. "Tomorrow!"

Percy didn't make any promises, but he finally convinced Tyson to say his farewells and grab hold of the ladder. With a final sad whinny, Rainbow the hippocampus did a back-flip and dove into the sea.

The ladder led to a maintenance deck stacked with yellow lifeboats. There was a set of locked double doors, which Annabeth managed to pry open with her knife and a fair amount of cursing in Ancient Greek.

Draco figured they'd have to sneak around, being stowaways and all, but after checking a few corridors and peering over a balcony into a huge central promenade lined with closed shops, he began to realize there was nobody to hide from. They passed forty or fifty cabin doors and heard no sound behind any of them.

"It's a ghost ship," Draco murmured.

**Aaaannnd done! Yay our young heroes quest finally begins! I hope you don't mind that Draco tagged along with Percy, but it'll honestly been boring and hard to write him out of the quest. So, expect him to be added on other quests as well~ anyways see you on the next chapter!**

**-D**


	10. The Haunted Ship

_They passed forty or fifty cabin doors and heard no sound behind any of them._

_"It's a ghost ship," Draco murmured._

**3rd Person P.O.V.**

"No," Tyson said, fiddling with the strap of his duffel bag. "Bad smell."

Annabeth frowned. "I don't smell anything."

"Cyclopes are like satyrs," Percy said. "They can smell monsters. Isn't that right, Tyson?"

He nodded nervously. Now that they were away from Camp Half-Blood, the Mist had distorted his face again. Unless Draco concentrated hard enough, it seemed that he had two eyes instead of one.

"Okay," Annabeth said. "So what exactly do you smell?"

"Something bad," Tyson answered.

"Great," Annabeth grumbled. "That clears it up."

They came outside on the swimming pool level. There were rows of empty deck chairs and a bar closed off with a chain curtain. The water in the pool glowed eerily, sloshing back and forth from the motion of the ship.

Above them fore and aft were more levels—a climbing wall, a putt-putt golf course, a revolving restaurant, but no sign of life.

And yet ... Draco sensed something familiar. Something dangerous. Draco had the feeling that if he weren't so tired and burned out on adrenaline from their long night, he might be able to put a name to what was wrong.

"We need a hiding place," Percy said. "Somewhere safe to sleep."

"Sleep," Annabeth agreed wearily. Draco just nodded. They explored a few more corridors until they found an empty suite on the ninth level. The door was open, which struck Draco as weird. There was a basket of chocolate pastries on the table, an iced-down bottle of sparkling cider on the nightstand, and a mint on the pillow with a handwritten note that said: Enjoy your cruise!

The group opened their duffel bags for the first time and found that Hermes really had thought of everything—extra clothes, toiletries, camp rations, a Ziploc bag full of cash, a leather pouch full of golden drachmas. He'd even managed to pack Tyson's oilcloth with his tools and metal bits, and Annabeth's cap of invisibility, which made them all feel a lot better.

"I'll be next door," Annabeth said. "You guys don't drink or eat anything."

"You think this place is enchanted?" Draco asked.

She frowned. "I don't know. Something isn't right. Just ... be careful."

They locked the doors.

Tyson crashed on the couch. He tinkered for a few minutes on his metalworking project—which he still wouldn't show Draco—but soon enough he was yawning. He wrapped up his oilcloth and passed out.

Draco laid on the bed and stared out the porthole. Draco thought he heard voices out in the hallway, like whispering. Draco knew that couldn't be. They'd walked all over the ship and had seen nobody. Draco started to feel doubt and stayed awake. They reminded Draco of Hogwarts and the orphanage he had to visit—the way the spirits of the dead sounded as they drifted past.

Finally Draco's weariness got the best of him. He fell asleep ... They woke to a ship's whistle and a voice on the intercom— some guy with an Australian accent who sounded way too happy for Draco's tastes.

"Good morning, passengers! We'll be at sea all day today. Excellent weather for the poolside mambo party! Don't forget million-dollar bingo in the Kraken Lounge at one o'clock, and for our special guests, disemboweling practice on the Promenade!"

Draco sat up in bed. "What did he say?" He asked alarmed.

Tyson groaned, still half asleep. He was lying facedown on the couch, his feet so far over the edge they were in the bathroom. "The happy man said ... bowling practice?"

Draco hoped he was right, but then there was an urgent knock on the suite's interior door.

Annabeth stuck her head in—her blond hair in a rat's nest. "Disemboweling practice?"

Once they were all dressed, they ventured out into the ship and were surprised to see other people. A dozen senior citizens were heading to breakfast. A father was taking his kids to the pool for a morning swim. Crew members in crisp white uniforms strolled the deck, tipping their hats to the passengers.

Nobody asked who they were. Nobody paid them much attention. But there was something wrong, Draco could feel it in his gut.

As the family of swimmers passed them, the father told his kids: "We are on a cruise. We are having fun."

"Yes," his three kids said in unison, their expressions blank. "We are having a blast. We will swim in the pool."

They wandered off.

"Good morning," a crew member told them, his eyes glazed. "We are all enjoying ourselves aboard the Princess Andromeda. Have a nice day." He drifted away.

"Percy, Draco, this is weird," Annabeth whispered. "They're all in some kind of trance."

Then they passed a cafeteria and saw their first monster. It was a hellhound—a black mastiff with its front paws up on the buffet line and its muzzle buried in the scrambled eggs. It must've been young, because it was small compared to most—no bigger than a grizzly bear. Still, Draco's blood turned cold. He had never fought one of those before.

The weird thing was: a middle-aged couple was standing in the buffet line right behind the devil dog, patiently waiting their turn for the eggs. They didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary.

"Not hungry anymore," Tyson murmured.

Before Annabeth, Draco, or Percy could reply, a reptilian voice came from down the corridor, "Ssssix more joined yesssterday."

Annabeth gestured frantically toward the nearest hiding place—the women's room—and all three of them ducked inside. Draco was so freaked out it didn't even occur to him to be embarrassed, besides he had done this before.

Something—or more like two somethings—slithered past the bathroom door, making sounds like sandpaper against the carpet.

"Yesss," a second reptilian voice said. "He drawssss them. Ssssoon we will be sssstrong."

The things slithered into the cafeteria with a cold hissing that might have been snake laughter.

Annabeth looked at them. "We have to get out of here."

"You think I want to be in the girls' restroom?" Percy whispered almost yelled. Draco rolled his eyes and tried to look around. "How are we going to get out?" He asked. His questioned was ignored.

"I mean the ship, Percy! We have to get off the ship," Annabeth slightly yelled.

"Smells bad," Tyson agreed. "And dogs eat all the eggs. Annabeth is right. We must leave the restroom and ship."

Percy shuddered. If Annabeth and Tyson were actually agreeing about something, it's better to actually listen to them.

Then Draco heard a familiar voice outside—one that chilled him worse than any monster's.

"—only a matter of time. Don't push me, Agrius!"

It was Luke, beyond a doubt. Draco could never forget his voice.

"I'm not pushing you!" another guy growled. His voice was deeper and even angrier than Luke's. "I'm just saying, if this gamble doesn't pay off—"

"It'll pay off," Luke snapped. "They'll take the bait. Now, come, we've got to get to the admiralty suite and check on the casket."

Their voices receded down the corridor.

Tyson whimpered. "Leave now?"

They exchanged looks and came to a silent agreement.

"We can't," Percy told Tyson.

"We have to find out what Luke is up to," Annabeth agreed. "And if possible, we're going to beat him up, bind him in chains, and drag him to Mount Olympus," Draco added.

Annabeth volunteered to go alone since she had the cap of invisibility, but they convinced her it was too dangerous. Either we all went together, or nobody went. They couldn't handle being separated in the ship with monster around.

"Nobody!" Tyson voted. "Please?"

But in the end he came along, nervously chewing on his huge fingernails. They stopped at their cabin long enough to gather their stuff. They figured whatever happened, they would not be staying another night aboard the zombie cruise ship, even if they did have million-dollar bingo. Draco made sure his twin daggers were in his pocket and the vitamins were with Percy and thermos from Hermes were at the top of his bag. Percy didn't want Tyson to carry everything, but he insisted, and Annabeth told him not to worry about it.

Tyson could carry three full duffel bags over his shoulder as easily as Draco could carry his book bag. They sneaked through the corridors, following the ship's YOU ARE HERE signs toward the admiralty suite. Annabeth scouted ahead invisibly. They hid whenever someone passed by, but most of the people we saw were just glassy-eyed zombie passengers.

As they came up the stairs to deck thirteen, where the admiralty suite was supposed to be, Annabeth hissed, "Hide!" and shoved them into a supply closet.

Draco heard a couple of guys coming down the hall.

"You see that Aethiopian drakon in the cargo hold?" one of them said.

The other laughed. "Yeah, it's awesome."

Annabeth was still invisible, but she squeezed his arm hard. Draco squeezed back Chris was there with another guy.

"I hear they got two more coming," the familiar voice said. "They keep arriving at this rate, oh, man—no contest!"

The voices faded down the corridor.

"That was Chris Rodriguez!" Annabeth took off her cap and turned visible. "You remember—from Cabin Eleven."

Draco remembered Chris from the summer before. He was one of those undetermined campers who got stuck in the Hermes cabin because his Olympian dad or mom never claimed him. The people in the cabin had mentioned to him last summer that Chris suddenly left, and they had absolutely no idea where he went. Some of the campers joked that he might have become crazy and left or that he ran away from camp. "What's another half-blood doing here?" Percy questioned.

Annabeth shook her head, clearly troubled.

They kept going down the corridor. Draco didn't need maps anymore to know they were getting close to Luke. He sensed a familiar vibe cold and unpleasant—the presence of evil. The presence Lucius and Narcissa had whenever they got back from their 'trips.'

"Percy, Draco," Annabeth stopped suddenly. "Look." She stood in front of a glass wall looking down into the multistory canyon that ran through the middle of the ship. At the bottom was the Promenade—a mall full of shops— but that's not what had caught Annabeth's attention.

A group of monsters had assembled in front of the candy store: a dozen Laistrygonian giants like the ones who'd attacked Percy back on his school with dodge balls, two hellhounds, and a few even stranger creatures Draco couldn't identify clearly.

"Scythian Dracaenae," Annabeth whispered. "Dragon women."

The monsters made a semicircle around a young guy in Greek armor who was hacking on a straw dummy. A lump formed in Draco's throat when he realized the dummy was wearing an orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt. As they watched, the guy in armor stabbed the dummy through its belly and ripped upward. Straw flew everywhere. The monsters cheered and howled.

Annabeth stepped away from the window. Her face was ashen.

"Come on," Percy told her, with a slight shake in his voice. "The sooner we find Luke the better."

At the end of the hallway were double oak doors that looked like they must lead somewhere important. When they were thirty feet away, Tyson stopped. "Voices inside."

"You can hear that far?" Draco asked.

Tyson closed his eye like he was concentrating hard. Then his voice changed, becoming a husky approximation of Luke's. "—the prophecy ourselves. The fools won't know which way to turn."

Before Draco could react, Tyson's voice changed again, becoming deeper and gruffer, like the other guy we'd heard talking to Luke outside the cafeteria. "You really think the old horseman is gone for good?"

Tyson laughed Luke's laugh. "They can't trust him. Not with the skeletons in his closet. The poisoning of the tree was the final straw."

Annabeth shivered. "Stop that, Tyson! How do you do that? It's creepy."

Tyson opened his eye and looked puzzled. "Just listening."

"Keep going," Percy said. "What else are they saying?"

Tyson closed his eye again.

He hissed in the gruff man's voice: "Quiet!" Then Luke's voice, whispering: "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Tyson said in the gruff voice. "Right outside."

Too late, Draco realized what was happening.

Draco just had time to say, "Run!" when the doors of the stateroom burst open and there was Luke, flanked by two hairy giants armed with javelins, their bronze tips aimed right at our chests.

"Well," Luke said with a crooked smile. "If it isn't my three favorite cousins. Come right in."

The stateroom was beautiful, and it was horrible. The beautiful part: Huge windows curved along the back wall, looking out over the stern of the ship. Green sea and blue sky stretched all the way to the horizon. A Persian rug covered the floor. Two plush sofas occupied the middle of the room, with a canopied bed in one corner and a mahogany dining table in the other. The table was loaded with food—pizza boxes, bottles of soda, and a stack of roast beef sandwiches on a silver platter.

The horrible part: On a velvet dais at the back of the room lay a ten-foot-long golden casket.

A sarcophagus, engraved with Ancient Greek scenes of cities in flames and heroes dying grisly deaths. Despite the sunlight streaming through the windows, the casket made the whole room feel cold.

"Well," Luke said, spreading his arms proudly. "A little nicer than Cabin Eleven, huh?"

He'd changed since the last summer. Instead of Bermuda shorts and a T-shirt, he wore a button-down shirt, khaki pants, and leather loafers. His sandy hair, which used to be so unruly, was now clipped short. He looked like the pictures Draco has seen in his old house.

He still had the scar under his eye—a jagged white line from his battle with a dragon. And propped against the sofa was his magical sword, Backbiter, glinting strangely with its half-steel, half-Celestial bronze blade that could kill both mortals and monsters.

"Sit," he told them. He waved his hand and three dining chairs scooted themselves into the center of the room.

None of them sat.

Luke's large friends were still pointing their javelins at them. They looked like twins, but they weren't human. They stood about eight feet tall, for one thing, and wore only blue jeans, probably because their enormous chests were already shag-carpeted with thick brown fur. They had claws for fingernails, feet like paws. Their noses were snoutlike, and their teeth were all pointed canines.

"Where are my manners?" Luke said smoothly. "These are my assistants, Agrius and Oreius. Perhaps you've heard of them."

Draco said nothing. Despite the javelins pointed at them, it wasn't the bear twins who scared him.

He had imagined meeting Luke again many times since he'd tried to kill Percy last summer. He always pictured himself boldly standing up to him, giving him the biggest lecture of his life and bitch slapping him till he begged for mercy. But now that they were face-to-face, Draco could barely stop himself from shaking.

"You don't know Agrius and Oreius's story?" Luke asked. "Their mother ... well, it's sad, really. Aphrodite ordered the young woman to fall in love. She refused and ran to Artemis for help. Artemis let her become one of her maiden huntresses, but Aphrodite got her revenge. She bewitched the young woman into falling in love with a bear. When Artemis found out, she abandoned the girl in disgust. Typical of the gods, wouldn't you say? They fight with one another and the poor humans get caught in the middle. The girl's twin sons here, Agrius and Oreius, have no love for Olympus. They like half-bloods well enough, though ..."

"For lunch," Agrius growled. His gruff voice was the one they'd heard talking with Luke earlier.

"Hehe! Hehe!" His brother Oreius laughed, licking his fur-lined lips. He kept laughing like he was having an asthmatic fit until Luke and Agrius both stared at him.

"Shut up, you idiot!" Agrius growled. "Go punish yourself!"

Oreius whimpered. He trudged over to the corner of the room, slumped onto a stool, and banged his forehead against the dining table, making the silver plates rattle.

Luke acted like this was perfectly normal behavior. He made himself comfortable on the sofa and propped his feet up on the coffee table. "Well, Percy, we let you survive another year. I hope you appreciated it. How's your mom? How's school?"

"You poisoned Thalia's tree," Percy spat.

Luke sighed. "Right to the point, eh? Okay, sure I poisoned the tree. So what?"

"How could you?" Annabeth sounded so angry Draco thought she'd explode. "Thalia saved your life! Our lives! How could you dishonor her—"

"I didn't dishonor her!" Luke snapped. "The gods dishonored her, Annabeth! If Thalia were alive, she'd be on my side."

"Liar!" Annabeth yelled.

"If you knew what was coming, you'd understand—" Luke was cut off.

"I understand you want to destroy the camp!" she yelled. "You're a monster!"

Luke shook his head. "The gods have blinded you. Can't you imagine a world without them, Annabeth? What good is that ancient history you study? Three thousand years of baggage! The West is rotten to the core. It has to be destroyed. Join me! We can start the world anew. We could use your intelligence, Annabeth."

"Because you have none of your own!" She spat.

His eyes narrowed. "I know you, Annabeth. You deserve better than tagging along on some hopeless quest to save the camp. Half-Blood Hill will be overrun by monsters within the month. The heroes who survive will have no choice but to join us or be hunted to extinction. You really want to be on a losing team ... with company like this?" Luke pointed at Tyson.

"Hey!" Percy said.

"Traveling with a Cyclops," Luke chided. "Talk about dishonoring Thalia's memory! I'm surprised at you, Annabeth. You of all people—"

"Stop it!" she shouted.

Draco glared at Luke, he was able to control his shaking he had faced worst. The slight memories of his tutors lecturing him, 'Malfoy's don't cry, Draco.' Or, 'get over it Draco you're not a baby anymore, she's gone!'

"Leave her alone," Percy said. "And leave Tyson out this."

Luke laughed. "Oh, yeah, I heard. Your father claimed him."

Percy must have looked surprised, because Luke smiled. "Yes, Percy, I know all about that. And about your plan to find the Fleece. What were those coordinates, again ... 30, 31, 75, 12? You see, I still have friends at camp who keep me posted."

"Spies, you mean," Draco said, narrowing his eyes at the person he had once called a brother.

He shrugged ignoring Draco. "How many insults from your father can you stand, Percy? You think he's grateful to you? You think Poseidon cares for you any more than he cares for this monster?"

Tyson clenched his fists and made a rumbling sound down in his throat. Luke just chuckled. "The gods are so using you, Percy. Do you have any idea what's in store for you if you reach your sixteenth birthday? Has Chiron even told you the prophecy?"

Draco looked at Luke in alarm, "He'll know when he's ready, now is not the time Luke," he growled. "I know what I need to know," Percy agreed. "Like, who my enemies are."

"Then you're a fool," Luke said.

Tyson smashed the nearest dining chair to splinters. "Percy is not a fool!"

Before anyone could stop him, he charged at Luke. His fists came down toward Luke's head—a double overhead blow that would've knocked a hole in titanium—but the bear twins intercepted. They each caught one of Tyson's arms and stopped him cold. They pushed him back and Tyson stumbled. He fell to the carpet so hard the deck shook.

"Too bad, Cyclops," Luke said. "Looks like my grizzly friends together are more than a match for your strength. Maybe I should let them—"

"Luke," Draco cut in. "Listen to me. Your father sent us."

His face turned the color of a tomato. "Don't— even— mention him."

"He told us to take this boat. I thought it was just for a ride, but he sent us here to find you.

He told me he won't give up on you, no matter how angry you are at him, he still cares Luke! He always had!" Draco yelled.

"Angry?" Luke roared. " Give up on me? He abandoned me, Draco! I want Olympus destroyed! Every throne crushed to rubble! You tell Hermes it's going to happen, too. Each time a half-blood joins us, the Olympians grow weaker and we grow stronger. He grows stronger." Luke pointed to the gold sarcophagus.

The energy the box gave creeped Draco out, but he was determined not to show it. "So?" he demanded. "What's so special ..."

Then it hit him, what might be inside the sarcophagus. The temperature in the room seemed to drop twenty degrees. "Whoa, you don't mean—"

"He is re-forming," Luke said. "Little by little, we're calling his life force out of the pit. With every recruit who pledges our cause, another small piece appears—"

"That's disgusting!" Annabeth said.

Luke sneered at her. "Your mother was born from Zeus's split skull, Annabeth. I wouldn't talk. Soon there will be enough of the titan lord so that we can make him whole again. We will piece together a new body for him, a work worthy of the forges of Hephaestus."

"You're insane," Annabeth said.

"Join us and you'll be rewarded. We have powerful friends, sponsors rich enough to buy this cruise ship and much more. Percy, your mother will never have to work again. You can buy her a mansion. You can have power, fame—whatever you want. Annabeth, you can realize your dream of being an architect. You can build a monument to last a thousand years. A temple to the lords of the next age! Draco he can help you, he'll tell you who was your godly parent and could bring you mom back to life!"

"Don't talk about my mother like you know her," Draco growled as Annabeth said, "Go to Tartarus."

Luke sighed. "A shame."

He picked up something that looked like a TV remote and pressed a red button. Within seconds the door of the stateroom opened and two uniformed crew members came in, armed with nightsticks. They had the same glassy-eyed look as the other mortals they'd seen, but Draco had a feeling this wouldn't make them any less dangerous in a fight.

"Ah, good, security," Luke said, "I'm afraid we have some stowaways."

"Yes, sir," they said dreamily.

Luke turned to Oreius. "It's time to feed the Aethiopian drakon. Take these fools below and show them how it's done."

Oreius grinned stupidly. "Hehe! Hehe!"

"Let me go, too," Agrius grumbled. "My brother is worthless. That Cyclops—"

"Is no threat," Luke said. He glanced back at the golden casket, as if something were troubling him. "Agrius, stay here. We have important matters to discuss."

"But—"

"Oreius, don't fail me. Stay in the hold to make sure the drakon is properly fed."

Oreius prodded them with his javelin and herded us out of the stateroom, followed by the two human security guards.

As they walked down the corridor with Oreius's javelin poking them in the back, Draco thought about what Luke had said—that the bear twins together were a match for Tyson's strength. But maybe separately ...

They exited the corridor amidships and walked across an open deck lined with lifeboats. Draco knew the ship well enough to realize this would be their last look at sunlight. Once they got to the other side, they'd take the elevator down into the hold, and that would be it.

Percy looked at Tyson and said, "Now."

Thank the gods, he understood. He turned and smacked Oreius thirty feet backward into the swimming pool, right into the middle of the zombie tourist family.

"Ah!" the kids yelled in unison. "We are not having a blast in the pool!"

One of the security guards drew his nightstick, but Annabeth knocked the wind out of him with a well-placed kick. The other guard ran for the nearest alarm box.

"Stop him!" Annabeth yelled, but it was too late. Just before Percy banged him on head with a deck chair, he hit the alarm. Red lights flashed. Sirens wailed.

"Lifeboat!" Percy yelled.

They ran for the nearest one.

By the time they got the cover off, monsters and more security men were swarming the deck, pushing aside tourists and waiters with trays of tropical drinks. A guy in Greek armor drew his sword and charged, but slipped in a puddle of piña colada. Laistrygonian archers assembled on the deck above them, notching arrows in their enormous bows.

"How do you launch this thing?" screamed Annabeth.

A hellhound leaped at Percy, but Tyson slammed it aside with a fire extinguisher.

"Get in!" Draco yelled. Percy uncapped Riptide and slashed the first volley of arrows out of the air. Any second they would be overwhelmed.

The lifeboat was hanging over the side of the ship, high above the water. Annabeth, Percy, and Tyson were having no luck with the release pulley.

Draco jumped in beside them.

"Hold on!" Draco yelled, taking out one of his daggers and cut the ropes. A shower of arrows whistled over their heads as they free-fell toward the ocean.

"Thermos!" Draco screamed as they hurtled toward the water.

"What?" Annabeth must've thought he'd lost his mind. She was holding on to the boat straps for dear life, her hair flying straight up like a torch.

But Tyson understood. He managed to open his duffel bag and take out Hermes's magical thermos without losing his grip on it or the boat.

Arrows and javelins whistled past them.

Draco grabbed the thermos and hoped he was doing the right thing. "Hang on!"

"I am hanging on!" Annabeth yelled. "Tighter!" He yelled. Draco hooked his feet under the boat's inflatable bench, and as Tyson grabbed Annabeth, Percy, and himself by the backs of their shirts, he gave the thermos cap a quarter turn. Instantly, a white sheet of wind jetted out of the thermos and propelled them sideways, turning our downward plummet into a forty-five-degree crash landing. The wind seemed to laugh as it shot from the thermos, like it was glad to be free. As they hit the ocean, they bumped once, twice, skipping like a stone, then they were whizzing along like a speed boat, salt spray in their faces and nothing but sea ahead.

Draco heard a wail of outrage from the ship behind them, but they were already out of weapon range.

The Princess Andromeda faded to the size of a white toy boat in the distance, and then it was gone.

As they raced over the sea, Annabeth, Draco, and Percy tried to send an Iris-message to Chiron. They figured it was important they let somebody know what Luke was doing, and they didn't know who else to trust.

The wind from the thermos stirred up a nice sea spray that made a rainbow in the sunlight—perfect for an Iris-message—but their connection was still poor. When Annabeth threw a gold drachma into the mist and prayed for the rainbow goddess to show them Chiron, his face appeared all right, but there was some kind of weird strobe light flashing in the background and rock music blaring, like he was at a dance club.

They told him about sneaking away from camp, and Luke and the Princess Andromeda and the golden box for Kronos's remains, but between the noise on his end and the rushing wind and water on our end, Draco was not sure how much he heard.

"Percy," Chiron yelled, "you have to watch out for—"

His voice was drowned out by loud shouting behind him—a bunch of voices whooping it up like Comanche warriors.

"What?" Percy yelled.

"Curse my relatives!" Chiron ducked as a plate flew over his head and shattered somewhere out of sight. "Annabeth, you shouldn't have let Percy leave camp! But if you do get the Fleece—"

"Yeah, baby!" somebody behind Chiron yelled. "Woo-hoooooo!"

The music got cranked up, subwoofers so loud it made our boat vibrate.

"—Miami," Chiron was yelling. "I'll try to keep watch—" their misty screen smashed apart like someone on the other side had thrown a bottle at it, and Chiron was gone.

An hour later they spotted land—a long stretch of beach lined with high-rise hotels. The water became crowded with fishing boats and tankers. A coast guard cruiser passed on our starboard side, then turned like it wanted a second look. Draco guessed it isn't every day they see a yellow lifeboat with no engine going a hundred knots an hour, manned by three kids.

"That's Virginia Beach!" Annabeth said as we approached the shoreline. "Oh my gods, how did the Princess Andromeda travel so far overnight? That's like—"

"Five hundred and thirty nautical miles," Percy said. Both Demi-Gods stared at Percy. "How did you know that?" Draco asked.

"I—I'm not sure," Percy stampers.

Annabeth thought for a moment. "Percy, what's our position?"

"36 degrees, 44 minutes north, 76 degrees, 2 minutes west," Percy said immediately. Then he shook his head. "Whoa. How did I know that?"

"Because of your dad," Annabeth guessed. "When you're at sea, you have perfect bearings. That is so cool."

"Dude, you've become our living compass!" Draco exclaimed, amazed at his friends new found power.

Percy was about to object, but before he could say anything, Tyson tapped his shoulder. "Other boat is coming."

They all looked back. The coast guard vessel was definitely on their tail now. Its lights were flashing and it was gaining speed. "We can't let them catch us," Percy said. "They'll ask too many questions."

"Keep going into Chesapeake Bay," Annabeth said. "I know a place we can hide."

Draco didn't ask what she meant, he risked loosening the thermos cap a little more, and a fresh burst of wind sent us rocketing around the northern tip of Virginia Beach into Chesapeake Bay. The coast guard boat fell farther and farther behind. We didn't slow down until the shores of the bay narrowed on either side, and Draco realized they'd entered the mouth of a river.

Draco looked at Percy and saw his poster become less and less alarmed and energetic as it was before. "There," Annabeth said. "Past that sandbar."

They veered into a swampy area choked with marsh grass. Percy beached the lifeboat at the foot of a giant cypress.

Vine-covered trees loomed above them. Insects chirred in the woods. The air was muggy and hot, and steam curled off the river. Basically, it wasn't London or Scotland, and Draco didn't like it.

"Come on," Annabeth said. "It's just down the bank."

"What is?" Percy asked.

"Just follow." She grabbed a duffel bag. "And we'd better cover the boat. We don't want to draw attention." After burying the lifeboat with branches, Tyson, Draco, and Percy followed Annabeth along the shore, their feet sinking in red mud. A snake slithered past Draco's shoe and disappeared into the grass.

"Not a good place," Tyson said. He swatted the mosquitoes that were forming a buffet line on his arm.

After another few minutes, Annabeth said, "Here."

All Draco saw was a patch of brambles. Then Annabeth moved aside a woven circle of branches, like a door, and Draco realized he was looking into a camouflaged shelter.

The inside was big enough for three, even with Tyson being the third. The walls were woven from plant material, like a Native American hut, but they looked pretty waterproof. Stacked in the corner was everything you could want for a campout—sleeping bags, blankets, an ice chest, and a kerosene lamp. There were demigod provisions, too— bronze javelin tips, a quiver full of arrows, an extra sword, and a box of ambrosia. The place smelled musty, like it had been vacant for a long time.

"A half-blood hideout," Draco looked at Annabeth in awe. "You made this place?"

"Thalia and I," she said quietly. "And Luke."

Draco went quiet and glanced at Percy. He looked quite... uncomfortable..? No, he looked quite jealous. Draco hid a smirk, 'does Percy have a crush on Annabeth?'

"So ..." Percy said. "You don't think Luke will look for us here?"

She shook her head. "We made a dozen safe houses like this. I doubt Luke even remembers where they are. Or cares."

She threw herself down on the blankets and started going through her duffel bag. Her body language made it pretty clear she didn't want to talk.

"Um, Tyson?" Percy said. "Would you mind scouting around outside? Like, look for a wilderness convenience store or something?"

"Convenience store?" Tyson asked.

"Yeah, for snacks. Powdered donuts or something. Just don't go too far," Percy said, not expecting Tyson to actually find anything.

"Powdered donuts," Tyson said earnestly. "I will look for powdered donuts in the wilderness."

He headed outside and started calling, "Here, donuts!"

Once he was gone, both males sat down across from Annabeth. "Hey, I'm sorry about, you know, seeing Luke."

"It's not your fault." She unsheathed her knife and started cleaning the blade with a rag.

"He let us go too easily," Percy said. "I was thinking the same thing. What we overheard him say about a gamble, and 'they'll take the bait'... I think he was talking about us," Annabeth agreed.

"The Fleece is the bait? Or Grover?" Draco asked.

She studied the edge of her knife. "I don't know, Draco. Maybe he wants the Fleece for himself. Maybe he's hoping we'll do the hard work and then he can steal it from us. I just can't believe he would poison the tree."

"What did he mean," Percy asked, "that Thalia would've been on his side?"

"He's wrong," she said.

"You don't sound sure," Percy noticed.

Annabeth glared at him, and Draco started to wish Percy hadn't asked her about this while she was holding a knife.

"Percy, you know who you remind me of most? Thalia. You guys are so much alike it's scary. I mean, either you would've been best friends or you would've strangled each other," Annabeth said, gazing back at her knife.

"Let's go with 'best friends.'" Percy said.

"Thalia got angry with her dad sometimes. So do you. Would you turn against Olympus because of that?" Annabeth asked, looking at Percy.

Percy stared at the quiver of arrows in the corner. "No."

"Okay, then. Neither would she. Luke's wrong." Annabeth stuck her knife blade into the dirt.

"So what did Luke mean about Cyclopes?" Percy asked. "He said you of all people—"

"I know what he said. He ... he was talking about the real reason Thalia died." Draco looked away this was a sour subject for Annabeth, Luke had convinced people not to come ask her about it when they had first arrived at camp. People understood since her sister figure had just died.

Annabeth drew a shaky breath. "You can never trust a Cyclops, Percy. Six years ago, on the night Grover was leading us to Half-Blood Hill—"

She was interrupted when the door of the hut creaked open. Tyson crawled in.

"Powdered donuts!" he said proudly, holding up a pastry box. Annabeth stared at him. "Where did you get that? We're in the middle of the wilderness. There's nothing around for—"

"Fifty feet," Tyson said. "Monster Donut shop—just over the hill!"

"This is bad," Annabeth muttered.

oOo

They were crouching behind a tree, staring at the donut shop in the middle of the woods. It looked brand new, with brightly lit windows, a parking area, and a little road leading off into the forest, but there was nothing else around, and no cars parked in the lot. They could see one employee reading a magazine behind the cash register. That was it. On the store's marquis, in huge black letters that even I could read, it said:

MONSTER DONUT

A cartoon ogre was taking a bite out of the O in MONSTER. The place smelled good, like fresh-baked chocolate donuts.

"This shouldn't be here," Annabeth whispered. "It's wrong."

"What?" Percy asked. "It's a donut shop."

"Shhh!" Draco shushed him.

"Why are we whispering? Tyson went in and bought a dozen. Nothing happened to him," Percy whispered, annoyed at the whole situation.

"He's a monster," she whispered back.

"Aw, c'mon, Annabeth. Monster Donut doesn't mean monsters! It's a chain. We've got them in New York," Percy said.

"A chain," she agreed. "And don't you think it's strange that one appeared immediately after you told Tyson to get donuts? Right here in the middle of the woods?"

"True, back in London we don't even have donut shops. Instead there's pastry shops that you can buy the snacks from," Draco agreed with Annabeth. Both stared at Draco, "What?" He asked embarrassed at the stares he was getting, he could feel a slight blush come to his pale cheeks. "We didn't know you where British," Percy said amazed at the fact that his friend is from the other part of the world. "Well I'm not- I'm not British! I'm half- French, half-Greek— you know what just forget about it, Annabeth what did you wanted to explain," Draco asked Annabeth.

"It could be a nest," Annabeth explained.

Tyson whimpered. "A nest for what?" Percy asked.

"Haven't you ever wondered how franchise stores pop up so fast?" she asked. "One day there's nothing and then the next day— boom, there's a new burger place or a coffee shop or whatever? First a single store, then two, then four— exact replicas spreading across the country?"

"Um, no. Never thought about it," Percy said.

"Percy, some of the chains multiply so fast because all their locations are magically linked to the life force of a monster. Some children of Hermes figured out how to do it back in the 1950s. They breed—"

She froze.

"What?" Percy demanded. "They breed what?"

"No—sudden—moves," Annabeth said, like her life depended on it. "Very slowly, turn around."

Then Draco heard it: a scraping noise, like something large dragging its belly through the leaves.

Draco turned and saw a rhino-size thing moving through the shadows of the trees. It was hissing, its front half writhing in all different directions. Draco couldn't understand what he was seeing at first. Then he noticed the thing had multiple necks—at least seven, each topped with a hissing reptilian head. Its skin was leathery, and under each neck it wore a plastic bib that read: I'M A MONSTER DONUT KID!

Percy took out his ballpoint pen, but Annabeth locked eyes with him—a silent warning. Not yet.

Draco understood. A lot of monsters have terrible eyesight. It was possible the Hydra might pass them by. But if he uncapped his sword now, the bronze glow would certainly get its attention.

They waited.

The Hydra was only a few feet away. It seemed to be sniffing the ground and the trees like it was hunting for something. Then Draco noticed that two of the heads were ripping apart a piece of yellow canvas—one of their duffel bags. The thing had already been to their campsite. It was following their scent. Draco was semi- regretting that he brought his bag with him, the monster could smell the bag and get a straight trail to them.

Draco's heart pounded. He'd seen a stuffed Hydra-head trophy at camp before, but that did nothing to prepare him for the real thing. Each head was diamond-shaped, like a rattlesnake's, but the mouths were lined with jagged rows of sharklike teeth.

Tyson was trembling. He stepped back and accidentally snapped a twig. Immediately, all seven heads turned toward them and hissed.

"Scatter!" Annabeth yelled. She dove to the right.

Percy rolled to the left, and Draco went with him. One of the Hydra heads spat an arc of green liquid that shot past their shoulder and splashed against an elm. The trunk smoked and began to disintegrate. The whole tree toppled straight toward Tyson, who still hadn't moved, petrified by the monster that was now right in front of him.

"Tyson!" Percy and Draco tackled him with all their might, knocking him aside just as the Hydra lunged and the tree crashed on top of two of its heads.

The Hydra stumbled backward, yanking its heads free then wailing in outrage at the fallen tree. All seven heads shot acid, and the elm melted into a steaming pool of muck.

"Move!" Percy told Tyson. He ran to one side and uncapped Riptide, hoping to draw the monster's attention.

It worked.

The sight of celestial bronze is hateful to most monsters. As soon as Percy's glowing blade appeared, the Hydra whipped toward it with all its heads, hissing and baring its teeth.

The good news: Tyson was momentarily out of danger. The bad news: Percy was about to be melted into a puddle of goo. One of the heads snapped at Percy experimentally. Without thinking, he swung his sword.

"No!" Annabeth yelled.

Too late. Percy sliced the Hydra's head clean off. It rolled away into the grass, leaving a flailing stump, which immediately stopped bleeding and began to swell like a balloon.

In a matter of seconds the wounded neck split into two necks, each of which grew a full-size head. Now Draco was looking at an eight-headed Hydra.

"Percy!" Annabeth scolded. "You just opened another Monster Donut shop somewhere!"

Draco dodged a spray of acid. "I'm about to die and you're worried about that? How do we kill it?" Percy yelled.

"Fire!" Annabeth said. "We have to have fire!"

As soon as she said that, Draco remembered the story. The Hydra's heads would only stop multiplying if they burned the stumps before they regrew. That's what Heracles had done, anyway. Suddenly, Draco remembered the lighter he had on his backpack, he always had one in case he was the one to lit up the camp fire. "I have a lighter in my bag! Can we use that?" He yelled at Annabeth. His mind already trying to find an answer.

"No hitting my friends!" Tyson charged in, putting himself between the Hydra and Annabeth.

As Annabeth got to her feet, Tyson started smashing at the monster heads with his fists so fast it reminded Draco of one of the fist fights he had seen when he was younger at camp. But even Tyson couldn't fend off the Hydra forever.

They kept inching backward, dodging acid splashes and deflecting snapping heads without cutting them off, but Draco knew they were only postponing their deaths. Eventually, they would make a mistake and the thing would kill them.

Then Draco heard a strange sound—a chug-chug-chug that at first Draco thought was his heartbeat. It was so powerful it made the riverbank shake.

"What's that noise?" Annabeth shouted, keeping her eyes on the Hydra.

"Steam engine," Tyson said.

"What?" Draco ducked as the Hydra spat acid over his head.

Then from the river behind them, a familiar female voice shouted: "There! Prepare the thirty-two-pounder!"

Draco didn't dare look away from the Hydra, but if that was who Draco thought it was behind them, he figured they now had enemies on two fronts.

A gravelly male voice said, "They're too close, m'lady!"

"Damn the heroes!" the girl said. "Full steam ahead!"

"Aye, m'lady."

"Fire at will, Captain!"

Annabeth understood what was happening a split second before Draco did. She yelled, "Hit the dirt!" and they dove for the ground as an earth-shattering BOOM echoed from the river. There was a flash of light, a column of smoke, and the Hydra exploded right in front of them, showering them with nasty green slime that vaporized as soon as it hit, the way monster guts tend to do.

"Gross!" screamed Annabeth.

"Steamship!" yelled Tyson.

Draco stood, coughing from the cloud of gunpowder smoke that was rolling across the banks. Chugging toward them down the river was the strangest ship Draco'd ever seen. It rode low in the water like a submarine, its deck plated with iron. In the middle was a trapezoid-shaped casemate with slats on each side for cannons. A flag waved from the top—a wild boar and spear on a bloodred field. Lining the deck were zombies in gray uniforms— dead soldiers with shimmering faces that only partially covered their skulls, like the ghouls Draco'd seen in the basement in Malfoy Manor.

The ship was an ironclad. A Civil War battle cruiser. Draco could just make out the name along the prow in moss-covered letters: CSS Birmingham. And standing next to the smoking cannon that had almost killed them, wearing full Greek battle armor, was Clarisse.

"Losers," she sneered. "But I suppose I have to rescue you. Come aboard."

oOo

"You are in so much trouble," Clarisse said.

They'd just finished a ship tour they didn't want, through dark rooms overcrowded with dead sailors. They'd seen the coal bunker, the boilers and engine, which huffed and groaned like it would explode any minute. They'd seen the pilothouse and the powder magazine and gunnery deck (Clarisse's favorite) with two Dahlgren smoothbore cannons on the port and starboard sides and a Brooke nine-inch rifled gun fore and aft—all specially refitted to fire celestial bronze cannon balls.

Everywhere they went, dead Confederate sailors stared at them, their ghostly bearded faces shimmering over their skulls. They approved of Annabeth because she told them she was from Virginia. They were interested in Percy, too, because his name was Jackson—like the Southern general—but then he ruined it by telling them he was from New York. They all hissed and muttered curses about Yankees. Draco just said he was from London and none of the skeletons said or do anything but just stared at him and move away.

Tyson was terrified of them. All through the tour, he insisted Annabeth hold his hand, which she didn't look too thrilled about.

Finally, they were escorted to dinner. The CSS Birmingham captain's quarters were about the size of a walk-in closet, but still much bigger than any other room on board. The table was set with white linen and china. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, potato chips, and Dr Peppers were served by skeletal crewmen. Draco was excited about being served by ghosts. The ghosts in Hogwarts didn't really do much but occasionally prank some students (Peeves.) "Tantalus expelled you for eternity," Clarisse told them smugly. "Mr. D said if any of you show your face at camp again, he'll turn you into squirrels and run you over with his SUV."

"Did they give you this ship?" Percy asked.

"'Course not. My father did," she said.

"Ares?"

Clarisse sneered. "You think your daddy is the only one with sea power? The spirits on the losing side of every war owe a tribute to Ares. That's their curse for being defeated. I prayed to my father for a naval transport and here it is. These guys will do anything I tell them. Won't you, Captain?"

The captain stood behind her looking stiff and angry. His glowing green eyes fixed Draco with a hungry stare. Draco glared at the skeleton and the hungry stare turned to slight fear. "If it means an end to this infernal war, ma'am, peace at last, we'll do anything. Destroy anyone."

Clarisse smiled. "Destroy anyone. I like that."

Tyson gulped.

"Clarisse," Annabeth said, "Luke might be after the Fleece, too. We saw him. He's got the coordinates and he's heading south. He has a cruise ship full of monsters—"

"Good! I'll blow him out of the water," Clarisse said not interested in their help.

"You don't understand," Annabeth said. We have to combine forces. Let us help you—"

"No!" Clarisse pounded the table. "This is my quest, smart girl! Finally I get to be the hero, and you two will not steal my chance."

"Where are your cabin mates?" Percy asked. "You were allowed to take two friends with you, weren't you?"

"They didn't ... I let them stay behind. To protect the camp."

"You mean even the people in your own cabin wouldn't help you?" Percy asked.

"Shut up, Prissy! I don't need them! Or you!"

"Clarisse," Percy said, "Tantalus is using you. He doesn't care about the camp. He'd love to see it destroyed. He's setting you up to fail."

"No! I don't care what the Oracle—" She stopped herself.

"What?" Percy said. "What did the Oracle tell you?"

"Nothing." Clarisse's ears turned pink. "All you need to know is that I'm finishing this quest and you're not helping. On the other hand, I can't let you go ..."

"So we're prisoners?" Annabeth asked.

"Guests. For now." Clarisse propped her feet up on the white linen tablecloth and opened another Dr Pepper. "Captain, take them below. Assign them hammocks on the berth deck. If they don't mind their manners, show them how we deal with enemy spies."

Draco went to an uneasy sleep that night, but no dreams came to him. They woke to alarm bells ringing throughout the ship.

The captain's gravelly voice: "All hands on deck! Find Lady Clarisse! Where is that girl?"

Then his ghostly face appeared above Percy. "Get up, Yankee. Your friends are already above. We are approaching the entrance."

"The entrance to what?" Percy asked confused. He gave Percy a skeletal smile. "The Sea of Monsters, of course."

**Aaaaannnddd done! Should I skip some of the things that happened? I mean it's already getting a bit too long so maybe I will... well anyway thank you for reading and I hope to see you in the next chapter, bye!**

**-D.**


	11. Lucy is acting suspicious

_Then his ghostly face appeared above Percy. "Get up, Yankee. Your friends are already above. We are approaching the entrance."_

_"The entrance to what?" Percy asked confused. He gave Percy a skeletal smile. "The Sea of Monsters, of course."_

**3rd Person P.O.V.**

Draco looked back at the weird quest he had with his friends. Percy, Annabeth, and Draco got stuck with a creepy lady that turned both Draco and Percy into guinea pigs and we're saved by Annabeth. Later they where able to travel and hear some sirens sing there song giving the gift of knowledge to both Draco and Annabeth by being tied up. There was a close call, but they made it to The Sea of Monsters where able to free Grover and the Golden Fleece. Met Luke once again got a mask by him as a 'gift,' gave the Fleece to Clarisse came back to camp make Chiron come back and get his spot a camp counselor again, and made Thalia come back to life. The most craziest summer by far Draco didn't know if he liked it.

His summer was almost over and it was quite a surprise when he came home that the next day both Lucius and Narcissa came back from their 'trip.' Draco had a feeling that something bad was going to happen, so he sent Dobby to go to Potter and warn him about going back to Hogwarts. His gut instinct was proven right when Lucius actually decided to go with him to buy school supplies. The whole time Draco was tense about Lucius being close to him could you blame him he barely saw the man and suddenly he had an interest in being with him. Nah, not buying it at all. Draco was upstairs when there in all his glory was Gilderoy Lockhart, giving winks and smiles to his fans and announcing that he was to be the new D.A.D.A. Teacher at Hogwarts. Now just the sound of his voice was enough to make Draco cringe seeing his face every. single. day. At school will make Draco wish to burn the whole school to the ground while Lockhart was trapped in a classroom and screaming like a little girl for help. Now that was a thought that made Draco's hands twitch, maybe Lockhart could magically disappear like the previous D.A.D.A. teacher. Draco hid a smirk when he saw that the Weasley's and Potter has arrived. Lockhart immediately came to them grabbed Potter and made him seem as if he was a fan of him giving him a bigger push in the social scale probably.

"I see that you can't seem to stop looking for fame, ey Potter?" Draco sneered falsely when he came into view with Potter and his friends. "Oh knock it off, Malfoy," Potter said glaring at him. He was going to say something when his 'father' came into view, "So this is the Harry Potter everyone has been talking about?" Lucius voice drawled in a way that made Draco tense. "Can't saw I expected much about the boy who killed You-Know-Who," Lucius said. Draco walked away leaving his 'fathers' side and looked through a random book he saw about the founders of Hogwarts. He skipped through most of the facts and went to the treasures of items that the founders have left somewhere in Hogwarts. From Rowena's diadem to Helga's cup he finally stopped when he started to read the facts about his house founder, Salazar Slytherin. As he read he felt as if the information in it would be useful, so he glanced around to make sure no one was looking and carefully ripped the page out folding it neatly and carefully putting it in his pocket. He went back to his 'father' as he was discussing or well insulting a certain Author Weasley. Draco mostly kept quiet and just looked at the two grown adults argue like children, it made him think of how the gods sometimes act. Childish and stupid. He glanced around and saw that apparently there was the new and final Weasley coming to Hogwarts, judging by the some of the school supplies on her hand. And he noticed Lucius place and item that slightly looked like a book on her bag. Draco looked away from the bag and to his 'father' they where leaving and just knowing that Lucius placed a random book on the female Weasley bag made Draco uneasy.

oOo

Draco was now on Hogwarts Express and as usual Lucius and Narcissa didn't say goodbye to him. Draco should've been used to them being gone for almost all of his life, but he can only fantasize what it'll be like to have a healthy family. He sighed and made it straight to an empty cupboard he doesn't have the strength nor the will to go bother Potter and his friends. Draco touched the mask he had on, it was the mask Luke gave him. Luke didn't really hate him even if they weren't on the same side but it doesn't mean that he didn't value the friendship that they had. It made Draco happy since some of the Luke he knew and proudly said he was his brother in everything but Blood was there. He always wore the mask after their encounter, and he didn't say who gave it to him when anyone asked he just wore it and everyone at camp got used to it. The mask somehow made him feel safe and it matched his personality at Hogwarts. A mask. Something he can hide and control who could see behind it. It was...a nice feeling...

Draco stopped touching his mask when he noticed Lucas and the other outside the door, they where looking around so he whispered a small, 'Alohomora.' And opened the door startling them. He chuckled lightly and said, "Are you perhaps lost? Do I need to call a Prefect?" They others just rolled their eyes and got inside, sitting down on the same spots they did when they were last here. "Hey man are you going to participate in Quidditch?" Marcus asked, slightly hiding the excitement in his voice. Draco eyes widen, "Shit! I totally forgot about that." He slapped his face for his forgetfulness. "Dude, how can you forget Quidditch?!" Almost everyone yelled. Draco rolled his eyes, "My summer was...eventful I had every right to forget something not as important as of what was happening." Lucas gave him a slight grin, "Guess the one who struggled to survive was you ha, Drake?" He playfully punched Draco's shoulder. Draco rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah whatever." He said while pushing Lucas's hand away from him. The group went on talking and talking the rest of their way.

oOo

Everyone was soon back in Hogwarts waited until Dumbledore gave his speech and the new first years to be sorted. After that the group went back to their old room and started unpacking. "So, about Quidditch," Marcus started. Everyone looked at him sitting on their beds or the floor. "Is anyone in here interested in joining this year?" He asked glancing at the new second years. Most of them nodded the other shrugged, "Well the first Quidditch practice should be two days prior from now, and since your all my roomies. I thought I should tell you all." He said then looked at the ground slightly nervous. He glanced at Draco and asked, "Are you going to join this year? I mean I understand if you don't want to, but you have a good eye and we could use a new seeker and..." he trailed off. Draco raised an eyebrow then looked at his hands.

"Well I'm not to sure... if I wanna or.. will be good at it.." he trailed of rubbing the back of his neck, a nervous habit he wants to get rid off, Marcus looked at him in slight surprise. "Haven't you practice before on a pre-broom?" He asked, confused. Draco let a sheepish smile, "Er- well um.. no...? Well I mean my parents always wanted me to study and normally all the free time I had would be spend on homework or research and well I know the basics thanks to last year. And to be on the team so suddenly I don't think it's a good idea..."

Draco played with his sleeves for a bit before glancing at Marcus. He looked disappointed but at the same time he looked determined, "Well you have a good eye and you know the basics so I thinks that with the practices we have. You could do well on the team and maybe we could beat those Gryffindor's this year in the World Cup!" Marcus exclaimed excitedly. Everyone smiled at him and continued to unpack. Soon nighttime fell and everyone was sleeping, Draco let out a sigh as he couldn't fell asleep. He let out a small smile as he played with the beads on his camp necklace, then frowned at the thought of the strange actions of Lucius. He sighed once again and thought, 'This is going to be an interesting year, isn't it?' And closed his eyes and soothe his breathing, falling asleep after a while.

**Aaaaannnnnddd done! Sorry this is so short compared to the other chapters but the next chapter is going to be a roller coaster ride! And can you believe it, I'm in the second book of HP and will now go to the third in PJO. See you guys in the next chapter!**

**-D.**


	12. Weird Twins

_He sighed once again and thought, 'This is going to be an interesting year, isn't it?' And closed his eyes and soothe his breathing, falling asleep after a while._

**3rd Person P.O.V.**

~~

_Draco was walking around a dark room. It smelled old and the floor felt moist and dirty; like it was abandoned. Draco tripped and fell on something hard, he felt around until he found an item. It was slightly round and had slight bumps at a flat area of the round item he touched the bottom of it and then found two holes on the side, 'a skull?' He thought keeping the skeletal head with him as he stood up. His eyes adjusted to the dark the place was definitely abandoned but why is he here? Why was this old room so important? Draco walked around questions popping in his head when he noticed something._

_Snake skin_

_He looked around to find even more but this one looked bigger and fresher. Draco flinched slightly as he heard something open. He looked around and noticed the light coming from some sort of door that was opened. _

_Someone was standing there. _

_They where small biased on the persons height, some of the light reflected on them reveling long ginger hair. 'Was that... the female Weasley...?' Draco's blood ran cold. Was this what his dream wanted to warn him about? The young girl stepped inside the dark room and into the path where some snake statues stood. Draco hesitantly followed her trying not to make too much noice. She stopped once she got to the statue of an old man on the wall and gently hissed.. at it... was she speaking Parseltongue..? Draco kept looking at her as she hissed at the wall when she suddenly stopped and turned around. Blood red eyes looked at him before glancing around, Draco sighed in relief she didn't actually see him. Before she completely turned around, Draco caught the familiar book on her hands... was that..._

~~

Draco woke up with a strained gasp. He looked around and grabbed his wand until he catches his breath. He made a quick 'tempus' spell showing 4:20. Draco sighed again knowing he won't be able to go back to sleep and went to the bathroom, grabbing his robes and underwear as he went. Once his in the bathroom he dispelled the glamour he had and carefully undo the sticking charm he did on his mask. He looked at the wolf like mask and proceeded to take of his sleeping wear gloves included.

Once he was in the shower he traced some new scars he had gained this summer. Most of them were burn marks from the bulls and some scars were from training from his early years. The most noticeable one was the scar that went from his left shoulder to his right hipbone, a reminder of his first quest; his gloves. Draco sighed and pushed the rising memories away, turning off the shower and getting off. He got changed and wrote his 'dream' in his 'dream jornal' one could say.

Draco carefully made his way to his dorm door this was a bit earlier than he normally would go to the common room. Hearing the loud snoring from his roommates make his doubt go away and slipped of to the common room. No one was there. Not even Snape.

Contemplating his decisions, he went out of the common room and just started to wander around the school for a bit. It was quiet and a little dark in the halls, luckily Draco hasn't seen any teachers out or awake at this hour. Draco continued to wonder around when he heard hushed whispers and laughter.

He tensed and slowly began walking to the noise 'please don't be a teacher, please don't be a teacher, please don't be a teacher,' he thought while turning around the corner. What he saw made him stop. "Shh, be quiet George!" A redhead boy whispered at the identical boy beside him. "Sorry Fred, can you pass me the glitter?" The other redhead whispered while grabbing a red bucket from out of nowhere. The redhead, Fred, passed George a bag full of yellow and red glitter while filling a yellow bucket with water.

'What the fuck?' Draco thought. Both twins stopped and turned at Draco. "Fuck," Draco whispered to himself and looked at the twins eyes. "So..." he trailed of. Both twins looked at each other nodded and looked back at Draco. "Well Fred it seems we have company," George said. "Indeed dear brother what do we do?" Fred said posing a thoughtful look. George and Fred looked at each other, "Oh I know-"

"It's time to preform-"

""THE AMNESIA METHOD!""

Both twins quickly grab Draco by the arms and start walking somewhere. Draco squirmed and kicked at the air trying to get of the twins tight grasp on his arms. "I won't tell anyone I swear!" Draco said still squirming.

Both twins stopped walking and looked at Draco, ""Do you promise?"" They both asked in perfect unison. Draco slightly smirked, "Only if you let me help." Both twins smirked and let go of Draco's arms. The unusual trio went back to the buckets they left. "So, what exactly is the plan to do with these?" Draco asked looking at the buckets filled with water and glitter. "I'm glad you asked-" one of the twins, George said. "-You see we plan to place-"

"-the buckets on top of the door-"

"-And when someone opens the door they'll get stuck with glitter everywhere-"

""-for the rest of the day!"" Both twins said. Draco nodded then looked at the buckets, "Wouldn't it be better if we used flour, water, and feathers? Those are harder to get completely off, or maybe we can do the glitter too." Draco said while looking at the twins.

Both males looked at Draco and smiled at each other, "Well George, looks like we got ourselves a new prank buddy." Fred said, George nodded, "Indeed Fred." Draco looked at the twins slightly confused, "Wait what?" Both twins looked at him with slight amusement, "You're a new prank buddy." Fred said as it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Wait shouldn't you be mad thought? You know the whole I bully your little brother and all," Draco said looking at the twins like they had turned nuts.

"Well at first we were-"

"-But then when we where gonna prank you last year-"

"We followed you around and noticed-"

"-that you really don't bother other students and-"

"you normally just sneer and insult Ron when he's with Harry-"

"-otherwise you just ignore everyone else-"

""-and just do your work. Besides Ron can take care on his own and win his own fights."" Both finishes at the end. Draco looked at the twins, "You know you're more observant than what people give you credit for." Draco said looking at the twins with amusement, "anyway where are we going to get the flour from?" Draco asked the twins. The twins just walked away turned around and nudge their heads to the side as saying, 'follow us' so Draco did.

Once they stopped walking Draco saw they where in front of a painting with fruits. "What are we doing in front of a painting? Talk to it to let us get some flour or what?" Draco deadpanned. The twins just smirked and said, ""Tickle the pear oh great young one,"" they stood apart and bowed. Draco rolled his eyes and tickled the fricking pear, once he did the painting opened and there stood a hole in the wall. Draco looked at the twins and went inside the twins following him. Once inside he was prevented with a lot of house elves working on the kitchen. Draco stood there as the twins asked one of the elves for where the flour was kept and if they had any feathers. Once they had the flour and feathers they went back outside.

"I didn't know that was there, are they other hidden rooms you know of?" Draco asked the twins. They just kept quiet with smirks in their faces, "assholes," Draco muttered, but he can't help but smile a bit. They remind him of the Stoll brothers making him feel a bit homesick about. Draco snapped out of his thoughts as the trio made it to their supplies were left. They where going from door to door placing the items while snickering here and there. Draco stopped snickering, "You know what." Both twins payed attention to him. "If a teacher were to catch us they would be either proud, confused, or extremely suspicious of a Slytherin and Gryffindors hanging out together willingly," Draco mused, but he was right Slytherins and Gryffindors being together and not hexing each other; unbelievable! The twins just grinned, "Well I hope they get used to it-" Fred started.

"-cause there's more coming-" George continued.

""Their way."" The twins said in unison. Draco rolled his eyes at their smirking faces and paled at the thought of what the twins meant. He shuddered, the more time he spend with the twins the more he remembered someone with red hair.

Draco eyes widen and he looked at the twins with a serious face. "I know this might sound weird but has your sister been acting a bit... out of it lately..? Like has she been acting strange... or like she's there but she's not really... there..?" He asked the twins. They rose an eyebrow at his sudden questioned but seeing the seriousness on his voice and slight waver on his voice they thought seriously. A few minutes passed when one of them said, "I've noticed she sometimes stays on her room than she usually does, and that she always seems to carry around that book around but that's about it." The slightly taller twin said. "Why are you asking?" The other asked glancing at Draco with confusion.

Draco sighed and said, "When you where collecting your supplies at the bookstore, I saw my father slip in a book in your sisters bag. I just kept thinking about it since it gave me a really bad feeling and honestly I was pretty suspicious at the whole thing. So, could you do me a favor and try to keep that book away from her? I don't know what it could do, but I don't think it's a good idea letting her keep an unknown book.." he trailed of. The twins nodded in understanding, it made Draco sigh in relief knowing he had someone look over the connection of his Demi-God dream and that book. ""We'll try our best to keep an extra eye on her and the book, maybe once we get it we'll give it back to you..?" Draco nodded in appreciation, they kept talking when they heard something. It sounded like little mews from what sounded like a cat, the boys froze and quickly went inside the closest classroom. Draco kept the door slightly open as he saw Professor McGonagall in her Animagus form. He waited for a bit until he couldn't see her and let out a sigh of relief, "Thank Gods she didn't catch us or we would've been screwed." The twins nodded and they carefully got out of the classroom, "This is were I'll have to go, it was nice being with you I guess." Draco said and waved goodbye at the twins.

He carefully made his way back to the Slytherin common rooms were some early birds were handing out in. He carefully made it to his dorm room to collect his book bag and give Eclipse some food and water. When he noticed his dorm mates were still asleep, Draco cast a quiet 'Tempus' and saw that it was barely 6:45 in the morning. He sighed in annoyance and silently cursed himself for not having a normal sleeping schedule, he smirked mischievously as he stood by the door. "GUYS WAKE UP WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE TO CLASS!" Draco yelled in a fake panicking voice.

As soon as he finished yelling that everyone jumped of their beds (or fell down in Lucas, Marcus, and Blaise's case) they all started to sloppily put on their uniform, or go to the bathroom and take a quick shower. Once they were all finished they all noticed Draco looking at them arms crossed and leaning on the wall. Face showing a mixture of pure bliss and amusement, "Wow, that was a new record I should do that more often." The others put two and two together and started yelling profanities at Draco as he ran out of the room snickering. Draco waited downstairs on the common room for his roommates to get down. Once they did they were all glaring at Draco with grumpy expressions. "Aah, looks like almost everybody woke up on the wrong side of the bed today," He coed, a smirk in his face. "Shut up," Blaise grumpily replied.

"Come on lets go before the Gryffindors get to classes first," Draco said making the grumpy teens and kids follow him to their respective classes.

oOo

Draco was not paying attention to what Lockhart was saying his 'teacher' just gave everyone in class a pop quiz; about himself. Draco lost all respect about his teacher right there and then, he new Lockhart was quite annoying and egotistical but this just takes it to a whole new level of bullshit. Draco read the 'quiz' again.

_What is Gildeory Lockhart's favorite color?_

_What is Gildeory Lockhart's secret ambition?_

The questions just went on and on and Lockhart expected students to know all of this? Let alone answer the fifty-four questions about him, Draco came to this class to learn about the Dark Arts not to learn the biography of Gildeory Lockhart! Even so he didn't want to he had to answer them as this was an actual grade. After everyone was finished with the pop quiz, Lockhart brought out a cage full of Cornish Pixies calming he had 'caught them all himself' and proceeded to open the cage letting the electric blue pixies everywhere.

It. Was. A. Nightmare.

Pixies flying everywhere and breaking things here and there. All while Lockhart left the room after his wand was thrown out of a window by a pixie. Draco grabbed a nearby book and started hitting the pixies with it as gently as he could whenever they got close to his table his table mate, Coyle, doing the same. Soon all the other pixies were places back to the cage by Potter and his friends. And as soon as Potter putted the last pixie the bell rang.

**Aaaaannnnddd done! Hope you all like this chapter and that you don't mind Draco hanging out with the twins it was an idea a friend gave me, and I just wanted to put it here. **

**Bonus storyline**

"Hey, have you seen Ron or Harry anywhere by any chance?" Fred asked Draco. Draco stopped putting the glitter in one of the buckets, "What?"

"Yeah have you seen them? We didn't see them at the common room or the train earlier," George said looking at Draco as well. 'Well shit I'm supposed to make sure Potter doesn't die, yet I don't even know where they are. Good job Draco now you'll have an angry goddess after your ass for not doing the one thing she asked you! Well shit sorry mom, sorry unknown father I'm a failure.' Draco curled up into a tiny ball and said to the twins. "You'll have the privilege be the ones to let me down into my tomb once I die, just to let me down one last time," he deadpanned as he closed his eyes and rolled over his tummy.

**End bonus. Hope to see you in the next chapter bye! Before I leave I'll answer some questions people in the comments have asked.**

**Done-With-People123: Yes, Draco will be claimed very soon *cought* Titans Curse *cough* also about you guess in his godly parent ;) you'll know soon. Also, thank you for following and just liking this book!**

**CantGetEnoughOfU: Thank you! Don't worry I'll be reveling more about Draco's mother and his life before the Malfoy's in general!**

**MorpheusYulia: As I said before I'm glad you liked it and like I've mentioned before everything will be revealed soon~ ;)**

**-D.**


	13. A Rainy Match

_Soon all the other pixies were places back to the cage by Potter and his friends. And as soon as Potter putted the last pixie the bell rang._

**3rd Person P.O.V.**

Everyone was in a panic. Teachers were trying to calm the students after they had all come and see a horrifying message, 'The Chamber of Secrets has been opened enemies of the heir...beware.' It was written in what Draco presumed was blood making the threat much more terrifying. While in the crowd Draco noticed the twins glancing at him from time to time, so he carefully made his way to them. Once there the trio left the area to a more..calm place. "Draco we have something to tell you," the taller twin, Fred, said. Draco nodded as they glanced at each other in slight worry. "We saw Ginny leave her room, so we decided to follow her..." George trailed off.

"We decided to follow her and saw her write the message on the wall-"

"After that we tried to follow her but we lost track of were she went-"

""And we just wanted to tell you that you were right. The book needs to go,"" The both said in unison. Draco nodded and sighed so it has begun. Whatever his last Demi-God dream had tried to warn him about has now begun. "I'm sorry that you had to see your sister like that. I'll do anything I can do to take that book away from her, you have my word," Draco looked determined at the twins. They were his friends and he'll do anything he can to make sure they're alright.

After the message was written Draco spent more time at the library writing information down of what he could find in petrificating as so far, Flich's cat was the only thing that was left in the scene. Draco looked around his research in frustration things weren't adding up and Draco doesn't know how much time until the Not-Ginny strikes again with another message or attack. Draco sighed and looked over his bag in his frustration his quill has broke and almost ruined all of his notes. As he was searching his bag a folded sheet of paper fell down from his bag.

Draco stopped and looked over it, he doesn't remember putting anything in his bag. He grabbed the sheet and unfolded it, to see it was the page he had ripped from the book back when he was getting his supplies. He carefully looked over it and noticed it had information about petrifaction. He read as he noticed that it had a creature mentioned; a Basilisk. The creature that can kill by just their stare and has the most venomous fangs in the Wizarding world. Draco put two and two together Not-Ginny was using the Basilisk somehow but that was impossible as it was only loyal to the ones who speak Parseltounge... unless.. Draco grabbed his book and read it he looked at the sheet of paper and grabbed a new quill, and wrote everything down.

After writing everything Draco places the books back to their place and once he was going to place everything back to his bag someone came in the library. He quickly hid and saw it was Granger one of Potter's friends that came in. He stayed were he hid and saw her grab the same books he had just placed back into place. Maybe he could use this as a chance to her the information he had like last year... Draco quickly took the notes and wrote a small message, 'It's me again, I have some information you might need- Fe.'

He grabbed his wand and did a quick 'notice-me-not' charm on himself and quickly but carefully made his way to Granger. He quickly placed the page and note and placed them on her bag. Quickly getting out of the library as soon as he could, once outside he let out a breath he was holding and tried to find the twins, he had something that might help them with their sister.

Draco walked through the hallways when he heard someone crying. He looked around and saw no one near him, so he tried to follow the crying at the best of his ability to end up in an empty restroom. He quietly made his way inside and asked, "Hello is anybody in here?" The cries stopped slightly, "I heard crying and I just wanted to make sure if you were alright." Draco said looking around the restroom when he heard something move from the stall closest to the wall. He made his way there and gently knocked on the stall door, "Are you in here?" He asked knocking a bit more roughly when the door opened. In there it was empty 'huh weird,' he thought as soon as he turned he saw someone with glasses right on his face. He flinched away with a slight curse and took noticed of the translucent figure in front of him.

"I'm sorry if I scared you it's just that knowing that someone heard me made me nervous. I thought you were going to throw something at me like the others did," the ghost said. Draco took notice of the ghost female voice, "It's alright could you tell me why you were crying in the bathroom, or perhaps give me your name?" He asked the female ghost gently. "I was crying because I felt lonely and when others hear me cry they come and throw their school supplies at me! I didn't even do anything to them! I just wanted to have someone to talk to," she exclaimed flouting close to Draco. "I see... if it makes you feel better I promise I won't throw things at you, and I'll try to come here as much as I can so you can talk to me okay?" Draco asked gently as he touched the ghosts arm. The ghost looked surprised at his answer and smiled slightly, "Myrtle." The ghost said, Draco looked at her with confusion, "My name is Myrtle Warren." Draco nodded and said, "My name is Draco just Draco."

Myrtle And Draco sat there and chatted. Draco learned that Myrtle used to be a student of Hogwarts, but she dies in this bathroom by staring at the eyes of a creature. At this Draco was alerted as the only creature he had in mind that could kill a person with a single stare was the Basilisk. As they talked Draco tried to see if Myrtle knew anything about the creature or if she knew what was going on with the whole secret message thing. In which she only responded with a no and a weird name Tom Marvolo Riddle. Draco didn't know why she told him of this name, so he wrote it down in case it came of importance later. Draco warned Myrtle about the Not-Ginny situation and then left with a promise to come back soon.

oOo

Draco felt tired today, another accident had happened and now there was a student on the nursing room thanks to being petrified like Flich's cat. Whatever Not-Ginny was planning it had started now. Draco took noticed that so far the two students that where petrified where both Mudbloods or as they like to call themselves not Muggle-Born. Draco was able to find out that Not-Ginny was somehow using the Basilisk to do their dirty work, so Draco was able to realize that whoever was able to take control of Ginny through the book speak Parseltounge.

Myrtle hasn't said anything about Not-Ginny, so Draco thought that Not-Ginny was someone very clever to not be seen by any of the ghosts that Myrtle has told to be weary about. Draco sometimes asked Myrtle if she knew anything about the Tom Marvolo Riddle fellow that she has mentioned before, and she only revealed that he used to go to Hogwarts with her, Draco still had no idea why she told him about Tom. But he hopped that it was some sort of riddle she was trying to make him solve. The girl was a Ravenclaw, so she sure liked doing riddles.

Today when Draco stepped to the girls bathroom to see Myrtle he smelled something odd. As he came to explore he saw a brewing pot hidden on one of the stalls. Draco waited for Myrtle to appear when he asked, "Why is there a brewing pot here?" Myrtle just giggled and said, "A girl left it here, she said that she wanted to try and do a potion in her room but had lousy roommates that didn't let her work. She told me to take care of it and to make sure no one will bother the potion in any way." Draco sighed, "Why did you let her boss you around into taking care of her potion? For all you know it could be a dangerous potion!"

Myrtle just giggled as she said, "She said that she'll come visit me once in a while, and I accepted I do like your company but sometimes I wish to be able to talk to girls." Draco rolled his eyes. "She could be lying Myrtle," he slightly scolded his ghostly friends. "I know but she gave her word and friends don't lie!" She flew closer to Draco as she said the last words. "Yeah yeah, did she at least gave you her name?" Draco asked Myrtle. She nodded and said, "She said her name was Hermione Granger and that she was in Gryffindors but that was all!" Draco's head snapped up at the mention of one of Potter's friends.

"She's one of the friends of Potter. If she was working on this potion they must need it for something," Draco said to Myrtle, as he squatted down and took a kind breath. Identifying the smell of the potion. "She's working on a Polyjuice Potion, so whatever she might need it for must be serious," Draco told Myrtle. She muttered a small 'oh' and asked, "How did you know it was a Polyjuice Potion, Draco?"

"One of my old tutors was a potions master, and he taught me how to do one of these potions when I was young," Draco reveled. Myrtle hummed. "I won't be able to visit you as much as before when Granger comes," Draco told her. She let out a cry of outrage, "What why?" Her voice full of fear. "Relax I'm not leaving you completely I just can't be seen by Granger seeing you without her getting suspicious and telling her friends," Draco explained trying to calm his ghost friend. Myrtle let out a sigh of relief and they continued to talk in peace.

oOo

It's time, it's finally time for the Quidditch match between Slytherin and Gryffindor. Draco would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous because he was. He hope all those after school days spend in training become worth it for all the pain and exhaustion exercising caused.

"And here we have our first Quidditch match of the year! Slytherin vs. Gryffindor!" The announcer yelled in excitement. That was Draco's cue to get ready on his broom he had gotten as a gift from Lady Hecate as well as his teammates broom. Draco's still confused about why she gave the brooms to them, but Draco likes to think that it's a gift as saying 'you're doing a great job!' And not as a, 'congratulations on not dying yet!' Draco flew a little as they where all getting ready to start the match.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen may the first Quidditch match of the year begin!" The announcer yelled as all the players on both teams started to fly up to their spots. They were all attentive with determined faces glaring and the opposing team. Draco watched out for the players that were flying around him moving out of the way as he stayed attentive to his surroundings, looking for any suspicious people at the stands that could hint where they'll free the golden snitch. Draco was un attentive of when it had started to rain, but he did tried to stay close to Potter saying some insults here and there.

When he lost track of Potter, he looked around and saw him flying away from what seemed like a giant black ball, 'a Bludger,' Draco thought. Well shit Draco loses Potter for one second and he goes and angers The Bludger, reminds him of a certain son of the sea. Draco sighs in annoyance and flys close to Potter, trying to get The Bludger attention away from him. He turns a little successful as he sees The Bludger close up on him he flys away as quickly as he could, when he noticed a shiny golden ball. The golden snitch! Draco flew close to the snitch away of the Bludger as he had his eyes focused at the snitch, he failed to notice Potter closing in until he looked back and saw the Bludger on his brooms tail. He quickly grabbed the handle and pulled up making a whole 360 degrees in the air and stopped when he saw the Bludger smash into Potter. He froze a bit and in that hesitation Potter flew to the snitch as well as Draco, but alas he caught it with his left hand. Cheers roared in the air as the Gryffindor team won Draco flew downwards as he noticed Madam Pomfret alongside Lockhart went at Potter's direction.

Draco sighed and walked to his team noticing some of them had grim faces. He frowned his first game in his team and he already failed as a seeker, he hoped Marcus wasn't too angry with him for failing. They all walked into their locker rooms and took of their uniforms and headed to the showers. The shower rooms had enough space for about forty students and had dividers, so it made it comfy for everyone to shower together. Draco took noticed of how quiet it was and decided to do something about it later.

Once at the Slytherins common room Draco looked at all the gloomy faces of his fellow Slytherin, ashamed of themselves for losing to Gryffindor for a second time. Draco headed to his dorm mates and tried to spike up a conversation. "Pretty gloomy today am I right?" He asked Blaise as he was spread all over the couch. "Yeah, I guess everyone is still bummed out about the match," Blaise said turning his head to pay attention to Draco. "I don't get why people are still bitching over the match," he said a little louder, fully knowing he coughed the attention of some Slytherins near him. He pretended not to noticed the glances they where getting, " I mean sure we lost and that sucks but they're still other matches to win and lose y'know?" Blaise muttered a small yeah. "Maybe we should celebrate that we lost," Draco deadpanned. Blaise raised and eyebrow, "Why would anyone celebrate that they lost?"

Draco shrugged, "Why not besides Gryffindor's are probably celebrating that they won against us, so why don't we? Sure we lost and we shouldn't be celebrating that, but we should just try to have fun and accept that we lost. Maybe bring in some snacks from the kitchen or have a sleepover. Something fun to lift up our spirits and show Gryffindor's that we don't care if we lost and they won, we're still an awesome house." Blaise smiled slightly at this point some of the Slytherins were nodding along Draco and some went to get others together. Draco got off the couch, "Come on lets get the snacks before everyone else gets the good ones," he said dragging Blaise along.

Once they came back they were greeted with laughter and Slytherins all in their own friend group talking to each other or playing stupid games like truth or dare. Everyone seemed to be happy, gloomy aura gone replaced with calmness and happiness. Draco smiled slightly and flinched when he felt someone's arm around his shoulders. "You sure can make people happy huh," he heard a familiar voice from aside him. "It's one of my specialties," Draco said as he turned and faced Marcus. Marcus just smirked a ruffled his hair doing the same face of confusion as Lucas had on his first day of school. "It's a glamour don't ask," Draco said smirking slightly. They other just kept his hand on his hair. "Could you take it off I kinda want to see what kind of mess you got there," Marcus said giving Draco his best puppy eyes.

Draco blushed slightly and turned around Marcus knew his puppy eyes where one of Draco's weaknesses. "Alright fine, just stop doing that face!" Draco told Marcus as he smirked in victory. He made sure to only unglamour his hair and made the blonde hair stay. "Oh Merlin, it looks so soft!" Marcus said in slight awe at the fluffy looking hair. Draco rolled his eyes and slapped Marcus's hand away. "No one can touch my hair unless it's me," He deadpanned and glared slightly at Marcus as he tried to touch his hair again. Marcus let out a small whine, and Draco left him alone. He was glad Marcus didn't blame him for their lost and that they were still cool, he smiled as he saw at all the Slytherins doing dumb shit together.

And they say they were all evil.

Mean? Sure. Evil?

Nah not a chance

**Aaaaannnnddd done! Hope you liked this chapter! Also I have some small questions to ask would you guys mind if I made the head cannon Hufflepuff and Slytherins being buddies/friends cannon? I really like the idea and it could be so fucking adorable. Also, would you like Severus, Minerva, and Draco have some sort of bonding time? Like maybe they get to know each other through detentions (Minerva and Draco) or just some fluff between them as if they already know them (Severus and Draco) or any kind of head cannons you have in mind? Let me know!**

**Now onto some of the comments you guys left!**

**Done-With-People123: I'm not sure if the things Draco will change will be big enough, but I'll say yes, just to be sure. Now I do have some people in mind that will find out about Draco being a Demi-God/Wizard, but I'm not sure yet. Now for your last question, I don't think I'll put Draco in a relationship since I'm not used to writing about relationships but maybe I'm not sure yet. Also, I'm OFFENDED that you thought I wasn't going to make Draco be friends with our little death bean, Nico! Hell yeah are they going to be friends! I just hope you'll like in what I plan them to interact with each other! Thank you for your wonderful comments/reviews I look forward in seeing you in future chapters too!**

**aflores2005: Thank you I was a bit nervous about having Draco and the twins become buddies so quickly, but I'm glad you liked it!**

**Oh I almost forgot do you guys want Slytherins to win some of the matches against Gryffindor? Or do you want them to lose like they do in both the book/movie?**

**-D.**


	14. Dueling Club

_Marcus let out a small whine, and Draco left him alone. He was glad Marcus didn't blame him for their lost and that they were still cool, he smiled as he saw at all the Slytherins doing dumb shit together._

_And they say they were all evil._

_Mean? Sure. Evil?_

_Nah not a chance_

**3rd Person P.O.V.**

~~

_Draco opened his eyes and looked at the familiar darkness he remembered this please quite well. He was back with the familiar skeletons and snake skin._

_The Chamber of Secrets_

_Draco stood up and headed to one of the walls for support, soon enough the placed lit up by the wall. He glanced around and saw the familiar figure coming inside the chamber. Draco focused on the wall behind the person. It...looked like...it was some sort of stairway or perhaps a slide. It must've been the only entry way to this chamber. He took a mental note to try and find out something about that later. Draco looked at the person, Not-Ginny, and followed them. They headed to the same way as they had before, and Draco noticed how this time there was a ghostly figure near her._

_He crept closer to Not-Ginny and was able to see the form of a young man, he had robes on so he might have been a student. Draco walked in front of the ghostly figure and was met with a cruel grin. The ghost was looking at Not-Ginny with satisfaction as he started hissing. Draco noticed that as soon as the ghost started hissing Not-Ginny did as well. Draco looked at the ghost in alarm so this was the one controlling Ginny. A ghost. A ghost that was somehow connected to the book._

_Draco looked at Not-Ginny and saw that she was already finished hissing at the wall, he turned around and saw part of the wall open up. And in there a pair of yellow glowing eyes was seen. Draco flinched when the eyes moved and so did its body. The figure slithered out of the whole and stood next to the ghostly figure. 'The Basilisk,' He thought. Draco turned to Not-Ginny and saw her drop the book with her eyes close. Draco on instinct kneeled down to grab the book but as soon as he touched it the ghost let out a horrific yell. He quickly tried to grab it but drop it by accident, reveling the front cover of the book._

_When Draco tried to grab it again he stopped and looked closer at the front cover, 'Tom Marvolo Riddle.' Draco quickly stood up and stepped away from Not-Ginny and the ghost. Draco froze as he saw the ghost look at his way but not his way. "You!" The ghost hissed while walking closer to Draco. "YOU!" The ghost yelled as they pulled out what appeared to be a wand. Draco flinched and stepped away from the ghost, the ghost snapped his head at his direction, "Don't you dare escape!" The ghost yelled, wand pointed at Draco. "AVADA KEDAVRA-"_

~~

Draco woke up with a startled gasp, he sat up and clutched his shirt. He waited until he recuperated his breath and looked around. He was in his dorm, he was safe. He looked at his friends as they fell asleep on the floor, his friends were here, he was safe. Draco quickly took out his dream jornal and wrote what he dreamed about.

Once he was finished he grabbed his uniform, his wand, and some underwear and headed to the bathroom. He unglamoured himself and took out his mask and sweaty clothes, gloves included. He placed the clothes on the basket for dirty laundry and headed to the shower, wand still in hand. He turned on the water and left it cold, he took out the shampoo and conditioner placing them both on his hair and resting his hands on the wall, water pouring on his head.

The name Myrtle had given him was the name of the owner of the book. The ghost haunting the book was Tom Marvolo Riddle. Why would Lucius have that book if it belonged to someone who could possibly be old enough to be his grandfather? Draco sighed and turned of the shower. Drops of water dripping of him, he gave one last sigh and left the shower to get changed. Once he had all of his clothes on he quickly dried his wand and casted 'Tempus' reveling it was barely 4:03 in the morning.

Draco sighed and looked at himself in the mirror he looked so tired. The bag under his eyes made him seem as he just had three hours of sleep. Which wouldn't be a lie since he always had a hard time falling asleep. He just looked at himself and started brushing his teeth grabbing his gloves and putting them on. He looked at his hair and just combed it a little undoing the little knots it had, drink some water and spitting it out. He grabbed his mask secured it with a sticking charm and placed his glamour back on and left the bathroom. Outside he quietly made his way to his bag and onto the door carefully opening it, leaving the room.

Once he made it on the common room he noticed some older students sleeping around on the couches or the floor, it looked like they decided to have a sleep over in the common room. He skillfully made his way around the bodies and left the Slytherin common room, stepping to the darkness of the dungeon. Draco made his way up the staircase and he stood by one of the windows in the hall. He looked over the dark sky and got lost in his thoughts. "What do you think you're doing out of the dormitories at this hour, Mr. Malfoy?" A female voice said behind him. Draco flinched and turned around seeing Professor McGonagall there. "Well?" She raised and eyebrow at him.

He looked at the side not meeting her eyes and quietly said, "I couldn't sleep..." McGonagall just stared at him. He looked up at her and looked away slightly. He heard her sigh and she said, "Just follow me, Mr. Malfoy." Draco followed her through the halls while cursing himself for not being attentive of his surroundings, if this was a monster he would've been dead. Draco noticed that they arrived at her classroom, he glanced around and them back at McGonagall.

She sat down on her desk and Draco just awkwardly stood in front of her. "Take a seat," she ordered, Draco wasted no time in getting a chair and seating down. He sat with a straight posted, but he couldn't help but start playing with the hem of his robes. "Biscuit?" She asked kindly. Draco shook his head no, McGonagall sighed and just kept looking at Draco.

Draco just looked around her desk avoiding her glance. Her firm sharp eyes looking at him like a hawk watching its prey, it made Draco wonder if he was in trouble, and she was going to give him detention. A moment of silence passed by, "It's quite hard to figure you out, Mr. Malfoy." McGonagall started. Draco looked up to her, his face cooled of emotion, but his eyes held a questioning glim. "I beg your pardon?" Draco asked. McGonagall just kept her stare and then sighed, "You act harsh and spiteful when you're in classes with Gryffindor's but not with Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs.. and some of the teachers -including myself- have wondered why. Is it the students in that class or the simple rivalry with Gryffindor and Slytherins?"

Draco stayed quiet that wasn't something he thought she was going to do, it made him wonder what she was going to get off of that question. An answer of course but why does it matter how he acts towards Gryffindors if it's something that has been happening for years? Sensing that he wasn't going to answer McGonagall sighed, "I guess you may leave with a warning but if I catch you outside again at this hour. I'll be forced to give you detention, am I clear, Mr. Malfoy?" Draco just nodded grabbed his school bag and left the room. That...was..an interesting conversation...but why did she do that..?

oOo

Dueling club was announced that day in their D.A.D.A. Class, thanks to Not-Ginny opening the chamber once more. Besides that everyone (mostly the mortals) were excited to see Lockhart and Snape duel in front of an audience. If you asked Draco he just thought some were just excited to flex their spells and moves in front of 'very known and respected' professors or just something to fight and perhaps hurt someone by 'accident.' After classes everyone went in. The people attending on the activity where mostly Slytherins and Gryffindors but a few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were there too. Draco took notice that The Golden Trio were there and groaned inwardly. He just wanted to see his 'godfather' beat the shit of Mr-I-Am-So-Smart-And-Better-Than-Others-Even-If-I-Cry-Like-A-Little-Bitch, and laugh at his misery and humiliation but noooo the damn trio had to come.

Draco let out a small sigh he had to keep calm or he'll do something he will regret. His 'godfather' and Lockhart stepped into the stool as each faced each other with their wands between their faces. A moment of silence passed as his 'godfather' shouted a disarming charm straight at, Lockhart. Lockhart couldn't do anything as he was hit by the spell, the spell was so strong that it send him crashing into the wall behind him. After a moment of silence (and posible shock from the mortals) Lockhart got back up and said that it was all according to plan as he had let Snape disarm him as an example.

As soon as he said that Snape ordered everyone to get in pairs, and he paired him with...Potter. Draco was tired of having to fight or always have some sort of problem with, Potter. Especially since teachers always pair the two as a form of 'punishment' but all it really did was annoyed him. He thought his 'godfather' was going to at least give him a break but no. Draco sighed internally and just looked at Potter, with a fake smirk and slight glare. They both copied the actions Lockhart and his 'godfather' did at the beginning. Draco was feeling quite annoyed at this, so he decided to try other spells with, Potter. He might as well have some fun with this stupid club.

Draco looked at Potter straight in the eye and said, "Scared, Potter?" Draco saw Potter glare at him and responded with a, "You wish." Both partners stayed still for a bit when he whispered a quiet but firm 'Tarantallegra.' Making Potter's feet start tapping non-stop. He waited for a bit when he decided to do a spell he hadn't done in what felt like ages. He pointed his wand at the slightly panicked Potter, and whispered 'Everte' throwing Potter backwards -making four flips in the air yes, he counted them- and land on his side. Draco waited a bit for his partner to recover, Potter quickly stood up wincing a bit. Draco stood there waiting for Potter, to at least do something. Potter looked nervously at Lockhart and ask him to teach him the spell Snape had used as he asked that, Draco's godfather came close to him and whispered, "Use the spell, Gladestone teach you." Draco nodded and soon the dueling started again. He waited a bit and quickly shot the summoning spell 'Serpensortia' at, Potter.

A giant black snake quickly slithered at Potter, as an attempt to attack him. Lockhart panicked and shot a spell 'Alarte Ascendare' making the snake fly into the air and land near a Gryffindor student. Draco as well as Snape moved to vanish the summoning but then something interesting happened. Potter hissed at the snake as if he was talking to it and the summoning stopped, at that moment Snape said looking at Potter, "Don't worry...I'll take care of it." And vanished the snake. The new discovery left everyone in a panic of the possibility of the Boy-Who-Lived being the one who caused the attacks on the mortals. It left Draco lost in thought for the rest of the day.

oOo

Some days passed after the dueling club accident and people still talked about it everywhere Draco went. It seemed like everyone thought Potter, was the cause of all the misfortune happening that year, but Draco knew better Not-Ginny was the cause of it but others don't know that.

After classes Draco wandered the halls as students were all going to their dormitories; when he heard it. Slight obnoxious laughing at the end of the hall. There he saw a group of students surrounding something, Draco quickly made his way to them. He pushed through the crowd and saw something that angered him. There stood 'Loony Lovegood' with her books all over the place and paper balls around her. Two guys were taunting her from the group they looked older going by the pimples on their faces, Draco pushed past them and made sure to hit their shoulders; hard. "Whoops, my bad don't see ya there," Draco shrugged and went over to Lovegood.

He kneeled down and placed her hand in front of her, she took it with a smile and glazed over eyes looked behind him. Draco looked behind him and saw both of the guys quite pissed off. "Hey who do you think you are?! Can't you see we're having fun?!" The guy on the left yelled. Draco just shrugged, "I don't give a shit if you're having fun. I'm just taking her with me, have a problem with it?" He deadpanned, the guy on the right clearly didn't like his answer and pulled out his wand, pointing it at him. "You think you're all that huh? Lets see how mighty you are when I do this!" He shouted the throwing spell at him. Draco tilled his body a bit, the spell passing by him. He looked at the guy with bored eyes, "Is that all you got? Wow I wonder how you've made it that far in your studies, bet you copied someone and passed." Draco taunted, he looked at the guys and walked at their direction.

They shouted spell after spell Draco easily dogging all of them and the ones that did hit had no effect on him. Once close enough from them he quickly snatched both their wands in his hand and kicked one where the sun doesn't shine. The guy in the left threw a punch at the sight of his hurt buddy, Draco caught it and twisted the guys arm until he kneeled in front of him. "L-let go," the guy whimpered, Draco only twister harder grabbing the guys shoulder with the hand that had their wands. "I'll let you go if you leave Lovegood alone from now on am I clear?" He asked the guys as they both stayed silent. Draco twisted harder, "I said am I clear?" The guy nodded as fast as he could, and Draco let him go. "Good," He said walking up back to Lovegood, the other people in the crowd stepping aside as he walked close to them.

Draco raised an eyebrow at them, "Well what are you still doing here SCRAM!" He yelled scaring everyone as they fled. Draco rolled his eyes as both bullies stood up their hands covering their wounded area. "C-can we have our wands back," one of them stampers out, Draco looked at the wands in his hand. Smiled at them and threw the wands out the window. "Oh my bad my hand slipped I hope you don't mind that," he said putting his hand on his pockets. Both of them looked at him with anger and ran away from him. "I ADVICE YOU NOT TO TELL A TEACHER I'M SURE THEY'LL LOVE TO HEAR YOU BULLING SOMEONE YOUNGER THAN YOU!" Draco yelled at them as they ran away and smirked as one flipped him off.

Draco then looked back at Lovegood and helped her pick up all of her books. Once they had all of them, Lovegood asked Draco, "Why did you help me?" Draco shrugged and said, "If they were going to bully people the least they could do is mess with someone their own size and not be cowards and mess with someone younger than them." Lovegood starred at him with confusion, "I don't understand why would you help me. I'm already used to it." Draco stayed silent, "It might sound hypocritical, but I don't think people should be used to being bullied." Lovegood just nodded and smiled at him with a dreamy smile. Draco smiled a bit and she started walking but before she left she said, "The Blibbering Humdingers flouting around you say thy you should take off those gloves sometimes. You'll never know how useful _it_ could be." Draco started after her slightly shocked. How did she know..?

oOo

Draco thought of what Lovegood had said as he made his way to the Slytherin common room. As soon as he was going to say the password he saw Crabbe and Goyle awkwardly walking towards him. Draco took noticed that Goyle had familiar black circled glasses, he wondered why they looked so similar when he remembered, 'Potter..?' He stood still as they made their way to him.

Draco raised an eyebrow at them as they squirmed around once they got near him, "Do you need anything?" He asked his 'bodyguards' they shook their heads no but then the hesitated. "Can we talk?" 'Goyle' asked uncertainly. Draco stayed still and looked at him in the eye before turning around and walking away from the common room. He stopped and looked back at them, "Well what are you waiting for? Follow me I have a spot in mind."

Both males followed Draco as he came to the closest empty classroom, he sat down in one of the chair and looked back at 'Goyle' and Crabbe. "Well sit down," both guys sat across, Draco. As they did they looked around the empty classroom. "Well what did you wanted to talk about?" He asked eyes focused at them. He smelled around him a strange odor seemed to be coming from the classroom, it was light but noticeable. That was weird when Draco and his dorm mates were here it didn't smell like that. It might have come from something... could it be that both are...

Draco looked closely at the boys sitting across from him, they still haven't said anything.. yet. "What do you think is going on with all the attacks going around the school?" He asked them trying to spark up a conversation or at least get them to talk. They said nothing 'this bitch..' Draco thought. "You guys want to know what's funny?" They looked at him in wonder, "You guys told me you wanted to talk to me about whatever but yet here you are being as quiet as ever. Like if you don't talk I'm going to leave, I have stuff to do." Draco stood up and made his way to the door. "Wait!" He heard 'Goyle' yell. He turned around eyebrow raised, "We'll talk," 'Goyle' said.

Draco nodded and just stayed there standing, "Do you believe about the rumors of Har-Potter being... the Heir If Slytherin?" Draco took noticed on the slip up Crabbe had. He tilted his head "Potter, being the Heir of Slytherin... pfff as if! A Gryffindor being related to Salazar Slytherin? Wow talk about family disappointment..." he laughed slightly, 'Goyle' And ' Crabbe' laughing awkwardly with him. "Answering your question no, Potter isn't the heir, I'm not sure myself how he could speak Parseltounge though... I'm looking into it and still gotten nothing... my apologies I'm getting carried away," he muttered shoving his hands at his pockets.

'Crabbe' And 'Goyle' quickly stood up quickly, Draco noticed slight changes in their hair and eyes. "I didn't know you needed glasses, Goyle. When did you get them?" He questioned a slight smirk in his face. They looked at each other in what seemed panic when 'Goyle' replied, "There just reading glasses...we have to go now-" Draco's smirk widen, "Sure have fun? I just hoped we could stay and chat a bit more, but I guess not all potions stay long enough.. right, Potter?" They froze in shock, "Don't look at me like that, I know how my.. friends act, but I'll give you credit you had guts to try and get into Slytherin territory. I'll normally torment you or tell a teacher, but I'm tired so I'll leave you to it.." Draco stepped aside the door, "You might wanna hurry though, or I'll change my mind..." he deadpanned looking at them straight in the eyes. Potter and Weasley quickly fled the room tripping as they went. Draco just looked around the class and left.

oOo

Draco tiptoes to the bathroom, it was late at night and all of his dorm mates were asleep. He went inside and locked the door, he placed his wand in his pocket and pulled of his gloves. Draco knew that he was being paranoid, but he just had to do it. He let the gloves fall into the darkness around him closed his eyes and relaxed; concentrating.

**Aaaaannnnddd done! I apologize for the very late update but where I live school started, and you know what that means..**

**•Depression**

**•Anxiety**

**•Homework**

**•My sleep schedule suffering**

**•Late updates**

**Entered the chat***

**But don't worry I'll still continue just it'll be slightly slower but not that much. I have some questions though will you guys want to see any Slytherin/Hufflepuff friendship or not? Also, I hope you like the little encounter with Luna! I tried to match her character sorry if she was too OOC! Anyway I hope you liked this chapter and I'll see you later bye! **

**Now before I go let's answer/reply to the comments!**

**Rindo Seiren: Thank you! I'm glad you liked it and guess what? More fluff is coming UwU. Also I'll try my best to look more into the Slytherins when they're alone, you can give me any ideas of what you want to see, I'll try to add it!**

**Done-With-People123: Hope you like the awkward bonding with Minerva I'll add more latter on. And thank goodness you'll NEVER EVER make that assumption about thy cute beans being friends! I'm glad you liked the friendship Draco has with his friends (do you have anyone else in mind to add in the little group? P. S. I'll make sure Slytherins win some of the matches against Gryffindor, but I'll make a slight surprise for one of the matches maybe fourth year? I'm not sure yet ;)**

**aflores2003: Of course!**

**And to the guest (sorry if you're an actual user your name doesn't appear): I'll make sure to let them win sometimes!**

**Now if that is all bye~**

**-D.**


	15. Tom Riddle

_Draco knew that he was being paranoid, but he just had to do it. He let the gloves fall into the darkness around him closed his eyes and relaxed; concentrating._

**3rd Person P.O.V.**

Draco didn't know if it'll work it had been a while since he last did it -specifically his first quest, but we don't talk about that- he didn't even know if he could do it again, but he tried. He concentrated at the memories of the chamber in his dreams and waited, he felt a familiar tug and he relaxed into the darkness...

Draco stumbled forward until he gained back his valence, he looked around and saw that he was in a familiar darkness, 'did I do it?' He questioned he grabbed his wand from his pocket and casted 'lumos' lighting the area. In the light Draco could see the familiar skeletons and snake skin he grown accustomed to. He stepped into the hall and walked close where he has seen Not-Ginny come into the chamber before, he disabled his spell and unglamoroued himself. He waited. And waited until he felt the small rumble of the door opening and there he saw Not-Ginny-Tom in all his wicket glory. He blended into the shadows and his eyes locked into the book Tom had, he wasn't sure what to do since he only thought he found a pattern in Tom's attacks, but he can't go back now. This could be the only chance to make sure Fred's and George's sister could be safe, he made a promise after all.

Draco held in his breath as Tom made his way close to him, closer, and closer, and closer... When Tom was a few inches away, Draco acted fast he leaped into Tom and snatched the book away from him as he was caught off guard. He ran like an Olympian runner; muting the screech of outrage from Tom. When a spell nearly hit him, he started thinking of his dorm -another spell almost hit him- he began closing into the wall. He close his eyes and—

Draco fell face flat on the floor with a loud 'SMACK!' He stood up and looked around him in alarm, death grip on the book. He calmed around when he realized he was in the bathroom, he did it. He got the book, maybe he was able to stop Tom from hurting Ginny. He sighed in relief and casted 'Tempus' it was 3:46 in the morning, Draco groaned he surly won't be able to go to sleep now. "Whoo, another day of no sleep!" He muttered with fake excitement, he sighed and went to get his uniform he was already in the bathroom he might as well get ready.

oOo

Draco. Suffered. The. Whole. Day. He felt like Thanatos himself came to him , dragged him all the way to the underworld and yeeted him into the River Styx. Guess his sleep deprivation finally caught up to him. Draco went to his next class; Charms with Hufflepuffs. He sighed in relief as he sat in his desk, Hufflepuffs were more quiet than the Gryffindors and at the moment their were Draco's favorite house that wasn't his own. Professor Flitwick came in closing the door behind him, he walked in front of his desk covered in books and started talking role call.

After his name was called everything went mute, he saw the professor talking but couldn't make a word of what he was saying.

Draco closed his eyes for a bit and opened them, he glanced around his classmates and noticed they took their books out. He copied their actions and asked his seat mate, Theodore for the page number, his eyes looked on Theodore's lips as they were moving, but he had no idea what they said. He thanked him anyway and waited until Theo turned his book; glancing at the page number he stopped on. Once he had his book on the right page he zoned out, he glanced at the book and tried to read what was in front of him. The words on the page were fine but he couldn't make any of the words in there, like he had forgotten how to read.

Draco concentrated on the words that were slowly becoming blurry "-raco? -co? DRACO!" He jolted upwards and turned to Theodore, "It's your turn to read!" He whispered/hissed. Draco nodded and looked at his page to see where they left on, he glanced around and saw everyone looking at him. "Please stand up to read the chapter, Mr. Malfoy," Draco heard Professor Flitwick say, eyebrow raised at him. He nodded and continued reading "Um... the Accio charm-Also Known As the Summoning Charm, Incantation: Ak-Key-Oh-Effect: Summons an objects from a distance-" Draco paused taking a small breath"- Aguamenti: Also Known As: Water-Making Spell- Light: Icy Blue-Effect: Conjures water-" he felt dizzy, he didn't noticed the look of concern he got from Theo "-Alohomora-Incantation: Al-Loh-Ha-More-Ah-Light: Invisible, blue, yellow, or purple-Effect: Unlocks doors and windows-Creator: Ancient African Sorcerer; first brought to Britain by Eldon Elsrickle in early 1600s-" he felt something pass his lips and fell into the paper. He glanced down eyes unfocused as he saw two blurry dotes of crimson read on the bottom of his textbook. He gulped and continued reading, "Anti-Alohomora Charm: Incantation: Al-Loh-Ha-Mor-Ah-...Light: Invisible, blue, yellow, or purple-Effect: A-an anti-Unlocking spell, a-acts as a co-counter-charm to-" he stopped as his head felt as if it exploded his mouth felt dry as the words in the textbook blurred. He felt his hands shake terribly as his eyes rolled back, he fell backwards he barely heard the shouts coming from the class. He felt his body being shaken by unknown hands faint yelling coming from on top of him as tried to blink back the blurry ness in his sight, he felt his eyelids slowly close and his eyes rolled back then everything went black.

oOo

Draco heard faint whispering from beside him, he tried to make up some of the words that were being said but only managed to make up, 'fainted in class' and 'caused by exhaustion' and 'lack of nutrition' before he blocked it out and went back to sleep. The second time he heard whispering he tried to open his eyes and tell whoever was talking to shut up, as his head was killing him. He slowly opened his eyes and squinted at the light on top of him, he waited until his eyes got adjusted to the light to look around him, he saw the pure white sheets and the silver cart besides him, 'Is this the infirmary?' He noticed the person the person- well people that where talking besides him, he squinted at them and was able to make up Markus, Lucas, Blaise, and Theodore sitting in some chairs by his side talking to each other. Draco slowly got up from the bed into a sitting position, he looked at his hands and noticed they were paler than what he made himself seem, they almost matched the sheet covering him. He slowly touched his cheek and noticed his mask was missing he almost went to a panic when he remembered that he left it in his dorm. He stayed in that position for a bit and looked at his friends, Theo glanced at him and then at the others then snapped his head back at him. "Draco you're awake!" He exclaimed startling the others and making them look at Draco.

Draco kind off smiled at them but gave up and just nodded at them. Lucas stood up and hugged him carefully slowly making him lay back down, "Do you have any idea how worried we were?! We completely freaked out when we heard you fainted in class, but we freaked out even more when Mrs. Pomfrey said you fainted because of exhaustion!?" Lucas exclaimed almost yelling at Draco, his loud voice making Draco wince and look away. Markus noticed his wince and patted Lucas a bit as a 'calm-down' Lucas sighed and sat back in his chair. Draco sighed and turned his head completely to is friends once he did his friends turned quiet looking at him in slight surprise then confusion. Draco furrowed his eyebrows why were they looking at him like that?

Then it occurred to him, eyes widen in horror, 'the glamour!' He thought and sat up quickly his hands covering his left eye. His silver eye looking at the pure white hair in his for-head in horror. They saw him out his glamour, how many people saw him without the glamour!? Draco started hyperventilating, what if someone mentioned this to Lucius and Narcissa? He'll be asked too many questions and then he'll have to explain why he glamoured himself and people might make the connection of him not being their son and- and- Draco felt himself being hugged he tensed as he felt another pair of arms around him, two bodies pressed against his and slowly shook forwards and backwards. One of the arms hugging him caressed his hair as the other made small circles in his back. "I need you to breath with me alright, Draco?" Lucas asked, Draco nodded slightly and took a small quick breath and let it out. "Okay just like that now do it some more," Draco nodded and breathed in and out, in and out, in and out, in and out. Slowly his breath came back to normal and he relaxed in both the bodies that were hugging him.

He slowly let his arms down and let them stay limp in his lap, after a while in that position both Lucas and Markus let him go. "You good now?" Lucas asked, uncertain that Draco would answer. "Y-yeah, yeah, I'm... good now I guess... just sorry if I freaked out on you like that... yeah, that must've been weird..," he trailed off his gaze not meeting their looks of concern. Draco sighed and pulled his hair back, "Man that was weird, did I miss anything? Cause the only thing I remember is fainting in class.. how long was I out anyways?" He asked looking at his friends. "Not that long actually, it's barely lunchtime right now. We snuck out from the great hall to come see you," Blaise said from his right, Draco nodded and looked at the chair on his left, his book bag was there. He moved and grabbed it looking inside it. He shuffled through it and saw that Tom's journal was still there, 'good,' he thought. He closed his book bag and placed it back in its place. "So what now-" He was cut off when the curtain dividers opened to reveal Mrs. Pomfrey caring a silver tray. A look of surprise in her face when she saw his dorm mates with him, or maybe it was because he was awake?

She quickly smiled at him, "I'm glad you're awake, Mr. Malfoy. I must say you gave everyone quite the scare." She placed the silver tray on his lap, the tray had a plate filled with a chicken leg, mashed potato, and some peas on the side. A cup of what appears pumpkin juice at the side of the plate. "Uh, thank you Mrs. Pomfrey," he said poking some of the chicken. She just nodded and looked at his friends with a frown, "May I ask what you boys are doing here? You're supposed to be in the great hall eating!" She scolded them as they blushed a bit, embarrassed of being scolded by someone that wasn't their mothers.

"In our defense we just came to visit, Drake over here and scold him for not taking care of himself, so if you should be scolding anyone it should be him," Lucas defended arms raised. Mrs. Pomfrey just raised her eyebrow at them and crosse her arms, "What makes you think I wasn't going to talk to, Mr. Malfoy? But anyhow that doesn't gives you any permission to skip your own meals!"

Draco sweat dropped at the cry's of outrage from his friends, "I mean if you want we could share some of the food from my tray.." he stopped as Mrs. Pomfrey looked at him with a shilling glare. "Oh no, you will not be sharing your food to anyone, Mr. Malfoy! The lack of nutrients and rest is what caused you to faint in the first place! So no, you won't share your meal and your friends will go and eat their own meal with everyone else at the great hall!" She said pointing at the door, "Now up you go you all need to eat, the last thing I want is more students fainting in their classes!" Draco's friends sighed and left wordlessly as they knew that an angry Mrs. Pomfrey was a scary Mrs. Pomfrey and they sure didn't want any house points taken from them. As soon as they left Mrs. Pomfrey smiled at him, "I'll let you eat now if you need anything please ring the bell next to you, and I'll be alerted immediately." Draco nodded and started eating, mostly the mashed potatoes the chicken tasted dry.

As he was eating Draco glanced at the door and then around the infirmary noticing that Mrs. Pomfrey left him completely alone, 'wow' he thought, 'I'm surprised the others didn't wait for her to leave to come back but whatever.' Just as he was going to eat a spoonful of mashed potatoes, Draco saw two people rush in and come directly at him. Their mash of ginger hair giving their identities away, "Fred, George, nice seeing you here." He said with an eyebrow raised up. The twins panted for a bit and them smiled at him, "Well we overheard some Slytherins-"

"Talking about visiting you at the infirmary-"

"So we got curious and followed them-"

"But Mrs.Pomfrey almost caught us so-"

""We stayed low and came here. Are you alright what happen?"" Both twins said in unison. Draco raised a hand placed his tray at the side of him and grabbed his book bag. He shuffled through it and grabbed the journal, "I was able to get the book from Ginny last night, I guess the magic I used caused me some drain in my energy than what I thought it would. Don't worry I feel fine now." He said waving the book at them.

Fred and George looked at him in surprise, "you really did it?" Fred asked mouth slightly agape in awe, Draco nodded his head then looked at them seriously. "Even if I have the book now you should still keep an eye on your sister, she had the book- well journal- for a while so whatever was possessing her could still be with her," he said fully aware he didn't mentioned Tom. He had a feeling he should keep that information to himself. Both twins nodded and thanked him again for helping their sister, "Hey what's up with your hair and eyes?" George asked after taking a good look at his pranking buddy. Draco stayed silent and muttered, "I don't want to talk about it." Both twins nodded in understand meant and left the topic, after a while they started talking and Draco just gave the twins pranking ideas that they could do, the twins taking notes and laughing at some dumb pranks.

Draco was just about to give them his last prank idea when Mrs. Pomfrey came back in followed by Professor McGonagall and his 'godfather.' They stayed still with wife eyes looking at each other, "Shit..." Draco muttered as the adults looked at them in surprise. "I-it's not what it looks like!" George stuttered, the adults looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Draco used this distraction as a way to sneak in the journal back to his book bag. Draco faked a sneer, "Don't you dare think that they came here because they wanted to see me, I bet they just came here to torment me with their stupid pranks while you were gone. I'll never lower myself to befriends blood traitors!" Draco glared at them and looked at the twins hoping they'll catch on, they looked at him in understanding and faked a smirk. "Well Fred looks like they catches us," George said looking at his twin. "Nah George they haven't catch us yet!" Fred exclaimed getting something from his pocket and throwing it at the floor, "SMOKE BOMB!" He yelled and a white cloud of smoke filled the infirmary and once it cleared the twins were gone.

"Well that was interesting," Mrs, Pomfrey said, looking at the spot the twins were with amusement. "Yes, very interesting," his 'godfather' said in his usual drawl voice. "Anyways," Draco started, "May I ask why you've come here for?"

Professor McGonagall nodded and stepped forward, "we're here to discuss about what happen today, Mr. Malfoy." Draco nodded and glanced at his 'godfather' in question. "We tried to contact your parents, but they didn't answer any idea why?" His 'godfather' asked even if he was already aware of Draco's relationship with his 'parents.' "They sent me a letter saying that they were needed somewhere outside of Britain, and that they might be gone for a while," Draco lied looking at his 'godfather's eyes. "Is that so... well I suppose Minerva could ask me anything she want then as I'm your godfather," Snape said looking at McGonagall who had a face full of surprise at the revelation. She quickly got a hold of herself and kept a poker face, "Very good follow me then Severus." His 'godfather' nodded and followed her out Mrs. Pomfrey following them. Draco sighed in relief once they left and later back on the bed, closing his eyes.

oOo

Days passed since Draco fainted in class and in those days the Hufflepuffs that were in class when he fainted basically adopted him for a while. His friends constantly teased him for being 'babied' by Hufflepuffs but a simple glare and a creepy smile made them think twice about teasing Draco in general. With that matter aside this day has been boring so far, so Draco decided to go visit Myrtle as he hadn't visit her in a while. After classes Draco carefully made his way to the girls bathroom and locked the door to the bathrooms - just to make sure someone doesn't come in and for safety measures he putted a charm that alerted him if the door was unlocked- as he made his way to the last stall he knocked on the door.

The door opened immediately as Myrtle floated close to Draco, "Hi Myrtle." Draco managed to say as he was squished to death by Myrtle. "Draco, I missed you so much! It's nice seeing you here again, it's been a while since you last visited me," she said letting Draco go. Draco smiled sheepishly, "Sorry I was a quite busy, but I'm here now besides you had the Granger girl here right?" He ask and saw Myrtle frown.

"No you were right Draco, she didn't talk to me much when she came in just stayed to make sure the potion was alright. Other than that she always left me alone, but we did talk once in a while so I guess it's okay," she happily nurtured at the end. Draco frowned as his ghostly friend 'friend' did what he suspected she would do. "I thought she talked to you more seeing as you're a Ravenclaw, but I just thought she didn't talk to you often seeing as she got petrified by the basilisk," Draco said sitting down on the dried part of the stalls floor. "Wow, I didn't know she got petrified poor her," Myrtle muttered floating slightly as she sat down with Draco.

"Well do you have any news on the person behind all these attacks?" Draco asked Myrtle. She hesitantly nodded, " I heard someone hissing at the bathroom a couple of days ago, I thought it was the basilisk so I hid in the bathroom stalls. But when I looked outside the stall there was only a person there hissing at one of the mirrors, it was dark so I couldn't see their face and I didn't want to go out and get a good look of them. Other than that I haven't noticed anything else that was odd."

Draco eyes narrowed as he heard about this 'mysterious' person hissing, his eyes widen in realization, "Myrtle, did the persons hissing sounded as a snake hissing?" He asked, Myrtle nodded after recalling that night, "I think it was." Draco nodded and opened the bathroom stall. "Where are you going?" Myrtle asked.

"Just going to check something out don't worry about it," Draco said getting close to the nearest mirror. Draco knows what kind of sounds a snake did so he could persónate the sounds he heard Tom make in his dreams. Now all he had to do is guess where he has to hiss at. Draco hesitantly hissed at the mirror, "What are you doing?" Myrtle asked with her eyebrow raised at him. Draco deadpanned at her still looking at the mirror, "Seeing if I can imitate whatever the hell the person was doing here by hissing at the mirror, what else do you think I'm doing?" Myrtle rolled her eyes and Draco continued hissing at the mirror, "Okay so if the mirror ain't it then... what is it..." he trailed of ass his eyes focused at snake decoration. "You got to be kidding me," He deadpanned, "As if you couldn't be more obvious, Tom." Draco muttered rolling his eyes as he started hissing at the snake. As he was...hissing, Draco felt the charm he placed on the door activate. He quickly ran into the stall and locked the door, Myrtle looked at him in confusion. 'Someone's coming,' He mouthed as the bathroom door opened.

Footsteps could be heard as the person outside came closer and closer to were Draco was hiding, Draco pressed himself on the bathroom stall desperate to not be noticed at all costs as the person stopped close were he hid. Draco's heart thumped I hid chest as he waited for the person outside to make some sort of sound when he heard it, the person outside started to hiss. Draco's ryes widen Tom was just one tiny stall away from Draco and if he decided to come into the stalls like the creep that he is, Draco will become a dead Draco and that's something he wants to avoid. After Tom's hissing stopped, Draco tried to peep a little through the tiny space in the stall careful not to be noticed as he saw a part of the wall open to revel a túnel. 'Is that were the chamber of secrets is hidden? In the girls bathroom, seriously Salazar why couldn't it be somewhere more personal not something that makes you look like a pedophile Jesus fucking Christ,' Draco shook his head he couldn't be distracted now, Tom was there and he was STILL using Ginny's body!

Draco waited until the chamber fort closed, he couldn't go there alone since it'll basically walking to an enemy territory, so Draco should maybe at least bring someone with him... like a teacher... Draco carefully slipped out of his stall and outside the bathroom he had to find his 'godfather.' As Draco went out he felt as he was being watched, he ignored it and kept walking.

Some time lasted and Draco couldn't find his 'godfather' the only person he ran into was Lockhart and he was packing furiously fast. Draco stopped by the classroom door, "What the fuck are you doing?" He deadpanned and almost smiled at the look of pure horror that crossed Lockhart's face. "I-i just need to leave?" Lockhart said stumbling over his words. Draco rolled his eyes, "You gotta get better at lying you know with the all whole I steel information from other travelers and make it my own,' kind of bullshit you got going on, so I'll let you go if you tell me where the fuck is Professor Snape." Draco snapped as he glared at Lockhart making him flinch in return and say where Snape was located, "You finally made yourself useful," Draco muttered speed walking to where the teachers lunchroom was.

When he got there Draco slammed the door open startling everyone inside the room. He glanced around and found his 'godfather' he came in and grabbed his arm, "Don't question if something happen," he said out loud as he dragged his 'godfather' by his sleeve. "Lockhart is packing, and I need your assistance with something," he said speed walking to the first floors girls bathroom. Once he was able to force his 'godfather' to go in the girls bathroom he was meet with the chambers door being wide open. "Shit," he muttered. "What in Merlins beard is that-" "No, time for questions go tell Dumbledore to send anyone don't question it and just go we don't have enough time!" He cut his 'godfather' off and pushed him out the bathroom making sure he started running to where he assumed Dumbledore was.

He turned back around and almost ran into Myrtle, "Who open the chamber what happen while I was gone!" He asked her. She started crying softly, "Harry, Ron, and some teacher came in and went to the chamber, I told them how to open it since they mentioned their friend going missing. I told them to get in because I wanted some friends even if they came out as ghosts," she whispered, Draco patted her arm lightly. "It's okay, but know I have to go their so stay here and don't let anyone else come in!" He said as he ran into the whole on the bathroom and ran in sliding down the slide like whole. Once he made it to the bottom he saw a whole on the wall and a panicking Weasley with a knocked out teacher at his side, he took noticed that Potter wasn't with him and cursed.

Draco hid far away he couldn't be seen by Weasley, he needed to pass by him unnoticed and unrecognizable. Draco unglamored himself and secured his mask on, he slipped of his gloves and placed them on his pocket, in a moment of hesitation he took of his tie and robe placing them on the floor, 'I'll get them later,' he thought. Draco closed his eyes and concentrated, he could do this he had done it before so he took a deep breath and felt himself dissolved.

oOo

Draco let out a small 'oof' as he stumbled forwards, he glanced around the chamber and noticed Potter along with someone -Tom- and someone that was laying on the floor, 'Ginny,' Draco thought. He came here to get Potter out of here but now he had to properly save his friends sister. Draco walked close to them by the shadows blending into the darkness he took out his wand and kneeled down once he was at a hearing level with Potter and Tom.

"Haven't I already told you," Draco heard Tom say quietly, "that killing Mudbloods doesn't matter to me any more? For many months now, my new target has been — you." Draco froze a bit as Tom came close to Potter his grip on his wand tightened. "How is it that a baby with no extraordinary magical talent was able to defeat the greatest wizard of all time. How did you escape with nothing but a scar when Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed!" Tom said pointing his wand at Potter. Draco stayed still if he saw Tom try and attack Potter them he'll interrupt but for now Draco wanted to hear what Tom was saying. "Why do you care how I escaped, Voldemort was off at your time," Potter said staring at Tom straight in the eyes.

"Voldemort," Tom said softly, "is my past, present, and future, Harry Potter," Tom turned around and started writing something in air. T-O-M M-A-R-V-O-L-O R-I-D-D-L-E and he moved his wand, and Draco saw the letters move around until they finally stopped. I A-M L-O-R-D V-O-L-D-E-M-O-R-T Draco stared at the words in shock and turned sharply at Tom when he turned around to face Potter once again. Potter started at Tom in confusion, "You-you're the heir of Slytherin, but I thought Malfoy was— you're- you're Voldemort," Potter stuttered out. Tom got close to him, and Draco got up his hiding spot making sure to stay in the shadows. "You didn't think I was going to keep my filthy muggle fathers name- no, I fashioned myself a new name and it'll remind you wizards everywhere will one day fear to speak. When I became the greatest sorcerer in the world!" Tom exclaimed. "Albus Dumbledore, is the greatest sorcerer in the world!" Potter yelled he sounded mad. "Dumbledore's been driven out of this castle by the mear memory of me," Tom said getting close to Potter. Draco stood up and carefully made his way close to one of the snake statues around making sure to not step in any puddles.

"He'll never be gone! Not as long as there those who remains a loyal to him!" Potter yelled and both him and Tom gave a stare down when the sounds of what sounded close to an eagle was heard. Draco glanced at the side of the chamber to see a Phoenix, Dumbledore's known Phoenix, "Fawks," Potter whispered smiling. The phoenix came and let go of something that he had been carrying with him, Potter caught it and unfolded it revealing the sorting hat. "So this is what Dumbledore sends his great defender? A song bird and an old hat," Tom mocked, Draco made up his mind this was the time he could reveal himself. He slowly made his way to them, "Actually Dumbledore send me to help his 'great defender,'" Draco said bowing mockingly at Tom's way. "But I think we had already met, right Tim?" Tom glared at Draco as he made his way closer and closer to Potter, until he was at his side, wand out and pointing it straight at Tom. Tom turned back at the old man like statue behind him and started hissing like he had before on many of Draco's dreams. "Annseackssd sssalissste," Tom hissed and the statues mouth opened and their the basilisk slithered out. Tom turned to Draco and Potter, "Lets match the power of Lord Voldemort heir of Salazar Slytherin against an the famous, Harry Potter. Might as well take Dumbledore's guard dog along with him."

When the basilisk slithered out Potter started running alongside Draco. Draco searched his pocket for a familiar doble ring and put in on twisting it. The silver ring immediately turned into a black and silver dagger, Draco stopped when he heard Potter trip and fall and quickly slashed at the basilisks eye. When he was going to slash the other one Hawks appeared and started slashing at the other basilisks eye Draco didn't slash. Draco took this moment to help Potter up, "NOO! You may have blinded the basilisks, but he can still hear you!" Tom yelled. Both guys started walking backwards as the basilisk started waving around in pain when one of them stepped on something that made a 'crack' sound. The basilisk stopped and looked straight at them, Draco took this sign and grabbed Potter's wrist, pulling him away from the attack of the basilisk and started running dogging the basilisk when it attacked and to one of the tunnels in the chamber.

Draco turned and ran into a dead end the basilisk slithered in their tunnel and both guys pressed themselves at the metal bars. As the basilisk came close Potter leaned down and grabbed a rock, he threw it and the basilisk followed the noice the rock made. They waited until it slithered completely out and ran threw the tunnels back to where Tom and Ginny were. Potter immediately went to Ginny and Draco pointed his wand at Tom, he pocked him in the chest with his wand and made him give them some space. "It doesn't matter if you're not completely alive I can still hurt you," Draco growled as he slashed his dagger at Tom. Tom dogged, "Yes Potter, the process is nearly complete in a few minutes Ginny Weasley will be dead, and I will cease to be a memory Lord Voldemort will return very much alive," Tom said ignoring Draco as he stopped dogging, Draco stopped attacking. "Ginny...," Draco heard Potter whisper.

Soon a big BOOM was heard and there the basilisk emerged from the ground screeching. Draco tightened his grip on his wand he casted a banishing charm at the basilisk making it hit the statue behind it, plopping a bit to the ground. Potter rushed forward to the basilisk at its moment of weakness his hand caring a silver sword. 'Where the hell did he get that sword?' Draco questioned but soon was hitter with a blast. Draco fell by the force and looked up to see Tom, wand out. "You might hurt me, but it doesn't mean I can't hurt you," Tom mocked. Draco rushed to get up and was nearly gutted with another spell, "Oh, so that's how you wanna okay huh?" Draco muttered and casted Babublious charm, shooting lighting straight at Tom. Tom digger and at that moment Draco hears Potter grunt and turned to see him. He saw Potter was able to get the basilisk with the sword but hit hurt by one of the basilisk tooth in return. 'Shit a basilisks bite is poisonous!' Draco dogged a spell sent by Tom and casted a Bewitched sleep spell at Potter. 'It's better if he doesn't feel the pain for now,' Draco dogged spell after spell send by Tom gettin closet and closet until he slashed at him with his dagger. Tom grunted and Draco ran to Potter pressing his hand on his wound as he pulled out the basilisks tooth, he stopped when he noticed Fawks fly towards him, landing over Potter and started to cry. 'Phoenixes tears help cure anything,' Draco remembered. 'Now the question is how did Tom posses Ginny if I had the journal? Unless he was able to stay for all the time Ginny had the journal in her possession.' Draco concluded, 'So, if I were to destroy the journal will it get rid of Tom for good?' He questioned and glanced over the basilisk tooth.

Draco's hand quickly made their way to his pocket and pulled a small sized journal. Draco enlarges it to its normal size and grabbed the basilisk fang, "Stop!" He heard Tom y'all behind him, he ignored him and stabbed the fang to the journal, blood poring out of the 'wound.' Once he did he heard a scream of agony behind him, he turned around and saw Tom with a whole on his chest; screaming. He pulled the fang out and stabbed the journal again and again each time Tom's body had a new whole in it, Draco didn't stop until Tom completely exploded into pure golden dust.

Draco sighed in relief when his eyes turned to Ginny. Was she alright now or was he too late? He glanced at Potter and checked his pulse, alive, he went up to Ginny and chew led her pulse he waited for a bit until he felt the faint pulse he sighed in relief, alive as well. Draco stood up and looked at the basilisk fang he had, he might as well take some of them, he doesn't know if he'll ever be back to the chamber, so Draco ripped some of the basilisks fangs and placed them in his pocket carefully. Draco then went back to Ginny and looked at her "I don't want her remembering any of this..," he whispered and then an idea came to him, what if she didn't remember ever being possessed..? Draco closed his eyes and casted a spell he hadn't done in a while, 'Obliviate!' He placed his wand, dagger, and holed journal in his pocket as well and carries the unconscious Potter bridal style. Draco turned to Fawks, "You will not tell anyone about this not even Dumbledore alright, Fawks?" Draco said the the Phoenix to see him nodding, "Good." Draco placed Potter on one of his shoulders he was quite skinny, so he didn't weight that much, the thought of why he weighted so little unsettled Draco, so he ignored it and placed Ginny on his other shoulder.

Draco passed Weasley and the unconscious Lockhart, "Harry, Ginny!" He exclaimed as he saw them both unconscious on Draco's shoulders. "Wait who are you what did you do to them!?" Weasley questioned, "I didn't do anything I just tried to help them and now that I'm here make yourself helpful and help me carry Lockhart back, we don't need others to know about this place!" He deadpanned and rushed forward. "Wait for me!" Weasley said as he dragged Lockhart behind him. Draco stopped and looked back letting Weasley catch up to him. "Thanks for helping my sister and Harry and sorry if I offended you by exclaiming that you were practically evil," Weasley said looking at his shoes as he walked with Draco.

"It's fine just don't mention I was here and grab the robe and the tie that are on the ground, please," Draco said as they passed his discarded robes, luckily Draco made sure that only the black part of the robe showed so that his house color along his tie were hidden. Weasley nodded and grabbed his things. "One more thing when we get out, you must not say anything to your sister. I know that she deserves to know what happened to her, but she's too young to experience this kind of stuff. You as her older brother must feel protective over her and you surly don't want her remembering something as traumatic as this right?" He said glancing at Weasley. Weasley frowned but then nodded in understanding, "Good make sure your friend doesn't tell her either too."

After getting out of the chamber and watching the door close Draco placed Potter and Ginny down on the bathrooms floor and grabbed his robes from Weasley, "I have to leave remember what you promised." Draco said as he made his way to the door. "Wait!" Weasley shouted stoping Draco from leaving. "What's your name?" Weasley asked. Draco smiled and turned to him, "My name is Felix, but I like to go by Fe." And with that Draco left Weasley alone.

oOo

After a few days Draco heard that Potter woke up, and he was not going to lie that he was quite relieved that he did wake up. After explaining what happened to the twins -leaving most details out of course- Draco left and started to pack his things. Christmas break started and he sure as hell wasn't staying here. No, he Iris Messaged Annabeth and decided that he was going to go with Thalia, Percy, Grover, and her to go get some Demi- Gods that were spotted on a Military school. Draco wasn't gonna lie, he was quite excited of his next 'quest.'

Draco placed all of his things in his bags and left his dormitory. In the great hall there were a lot of parents that came to pick up their children for Christmas, Draco was going to get going when he heard his name being called. "Draconis!" He heard Lucius hiss when he saw him, Draco rolled his eyes and made his way to his 'father.' "Wow? I'm surprised that you came here Lucius what's up?" He said. "Don't talk like that in front of me young man!" Lucius hissed frowning at Draco. "Sheesh, since when did you start to care of how I talked? You certainly haven't cared of how am I got years. Stop acting like you even care about me because we both know that's bullshit," Draco hissed and turned around to leave. Lucius followed him, "Draconis come back here!" Lucius called out to him when he got trapped by bodies of people making him lose Draco. "Where are you going, Draconis!?" Lucius exclaimed. "Somewhere called non of your business if you need me call the Blackeley's good bye old man!" Draco deadpanned at Lucius and passed by Dobby. He noticed Dobby had a sock and immediately understood, "Dobby, come here" he called out and Dobby made his way to Draco. He kneeled down, "Do you want to be a free elf, Dobby?" Draco asked, Dobby nodded hesitantly. "Alright then give me the sock," Draco said extending his hand and letting Dobby place the sock in it. "You sir Dobby shall now be pronounced a free elf. I hope you keep thyself safe on thou journeys," Draco narrated as he gave Dobby back his sock. Dobby's eyes sparkled, "Master has given Dobby a sock, Dobby's free elf now!" Dobby exclaimed, Draco smiled sadly and nodded. "Yes, thou are it was wonderful having thou with me by thy side, thank thou for all thee service goodbye now," Draco said and left the great hall before anyone could see what he did.

**Aaaaaaannnnnddd done! Wow that took a while to write but at least I'm now at PJ's third book now. Now you guys could ask me any questions you might have of what happened in this chapter or just Draco in general. (Just so you know Ron agreed to not say anything to Ginny since he cares about her a lot, and if I had a younger sibling and they went through some traumatic experience. I would never try to tell them something of it if they don't remember and will most likely try to get them to forget that experience even happened so don't get mad at me!) **

**Now do you guys liked the Hufflepuff/Slytherin friendship I wrote here? I hope you do anyways thanks for reading and hope to see you in the next chapter!**

**Now onto some comments!**

**Done-With-People123: yes, I'm alright it was just a joke (a slightly dark joke my bad :P) Yes, I might add Neville and Luna into Draco's little friend group. Now to Viktor Krump I have some ideas of what to do with them, but will see, will see. ;3**

**-D.**


	16. The Di Angelo Siblings

_"Yes, thou are it was wonderful having thou with me by thy side, thank thou for all thee service goodbye now," Draco said and left the great hall before anyone could see what he did._

**3rd Person P.O.V.**

Draco crouched down from where Percy and himself were. They stood outside in the snow and waited for Thalia's signal to get inside the military school. She nodded at them and they all stepped out and inside the school doors, they walked through the grey halls of the school until they were spotted by a teacher. "What are you doing here, who are you?" The teacher said glaring at them in suspicion. Thalia came forward and looked at her in the eyes, "We are students here that just got here, so you were showing us the way to the other students." And snapped her fingers at the teachers face. The teacher blinked at them with glanced over eyes then smiled, "Well then follow me, right now we're having a dance in the multipurpose room. Come along now!" They all followed her to the gym where all the students were dancing and drinking something in red cups, probably punch.

Draco scanned the crowd until he found Grover, "Over there!" He whispered to the others pointing at Grover. They made his way to the satyr in disguised, Grover looked at them and instantly smiles running over to them. "I'm glad you guys came, follow me the crowds getting a bit loud," Grover walked them until they were close to the stalls. Draco noticed that two people were already there by the corner of the room. One was a girl with her hair braided on her shoulder. She wore a green cap and had her hands on a younger boy 'probably her brother,' Draco thought. "You see those guys over there?" Draco heard Grover day and glanced at him noticing he was pointing at the people Draco was looking at earlier. "Those are the Demi-Gods I was talking about they always keep to themselves and don't talk to others much, so I couldn't get close to them. We need to get them out of here fast, their sent is strong so it might alarm any monsters near by," Grover said, Draco nodded and looked back at the pair. He saw that they were talking to some older guy and started following him, "Um, guys? I think they're leaving," he said eyes still locked on the pair.

"Oh no, that's one of the teachers I had a bad feeling about," Grover muttered. They all quickly left and followed the pair outside the gym. Percy suddenly sprinted up to the pair, 'shit.' Draco thought, Thalia followed him and together they went towards the teacher. Draco ran up to them and grabbed both kids as the teacher revealed his true form; a manticore. "We got to get you to safety follow me!" He said, pulling both Demi-Gods with him as they moved away the monster looked at them, "No! You're not going anywhere with them!" The manticore said ignoring both Percy and Thalia to get to them. Draco twisted the silver ring he wore and adjusted the dagger in his hand. Draco ran as fast as he could with Borge Demi-Gods and slashed at the manticore, "Dr. Thron?" He heard one of the Demi-Gods whisper behind him as he kicked the monsters— Dr. Thorn's chest, sending him away from them.

"We've got to hurry!" Draco said turning back to the siblings and continued to run out the hall and into the doors ahead of them. Draco heard an angry roar behind him and ran faster until they made it outside the school, the snow made running harder. Draco heard the sound of someone falling and saw that the shorter sibling fell, he cursed himself for not thinking of the kid and helped the kid up. Sadly the manticore had already catch up to them, Draco didn't know how they could escape since they were already near the corner of the hill. Draco made both siblings stand behind him and raised a hand to protect them, the other holding his dagger. Percy, Thalia, Grover, and Annabeth stood behind the manticore and tried to get its attention by attacking him from behind.

It worked and the manticore turned to them, "It's no use punny Demi-Gods! I'll take these ones away to bring to the General! He'll reward me beautifully when I get back!" Dr. Thron said laughing at them, the sound of a helicopter filled his ears and looked back. Something was coming closer and closer to them, he grabbed the younger Demi-Gods wrist and slowly pulled them towards the woods. Making sure not to gain Dr. Thorns attention as they walked around him. When Draco took his next step a loud CRUNCH was heard, he looked down and saw that he had stepped on a branch. 'Fuck,' Draco mentally cursed as he saw Dr. Thorn turn around. "Huh? Where do you think you're going?" He asked and raised his hand towards them Draco turned around and tackled both siblings to the ground missing, Dr. Thorn's huge hand.

When Draco looked up he saw something silver passed by him and hit Dr. Thorn more of them came and he noticed they were all arrows: silver arrows. 'The hunters!' Draco thought relived that they had people helping them. Soon more of the hunters stepped out of the woods all their bows pointing at Dr. Thron and hitting him with arrows. Dr. Thron stepped away from them, "Damn hunters!" He cursed as more arrows hitter him, he started walking backwards, towards the end of the cliff. He stopped when he felt the end of the cliff but sadly the eight of the manticore was too much and the rock broke, making Dr. Thorn collapse until all his chest and arms where the only thing handing to the cliff. "If I can't have those damn Demi-Gods I'll have the next best thing!" Dr. Thorn yelled grabbing the person closest to him: Annabeth. He twisted and fell off the cliff bringing Annabeth down with him. Draco stood up and ran towards the end of the cliff with Percy, "Annabeth!" Percy yelled panicked. Draco grabbed his shirt when he got too close to the end of the cliff, he grabbed his shirt and tugged it a bit making Percy look at him. Draco's head pointed at the hunters and Lady Artemis, "We got to get the Demi-Gods to safety, we'll save Annabeth later I promise," Draco whispered the last part to Percy and walked towards the Demi-God siblings. "What's going on? What just happened!?" The older sibling said and Draco looked at her and stopped eyes wide.

'She looks just like- no, she's dead Draco remembered that she's not here anymore and she'll never be coming back!' Draco cursed himself and forced himself to look at the sibling in the eye. "Everything is fine now, we'll take you to a safe place away from here," he said turning his attention to the shorter kid. He looked at Draco in awe, "WOW! How did you get a dagger? And how did Mr. Thorn turned into that?!" The kid yelled excitedly. Draco smiled a bit and glanced at the girl noticing her looking at the hunters in awe. He kneeled down and glanced at the kid placing his finger close to his masked lips and pointing to the goddess of the moon that was talking to her hunters. "You see that person over there?" Draco whispered, the boy nodded. "That's Lady Artemis goddess of the hunt," Draco said turning to see the kid in the eye. The boys mouth dropped, "How? The gods aren't real?"

Draco chuckled, "That's what everyone thinks but they're very much real, come on kiddo the hunt is leaving without us." He glanced at hunters and followed them to the woods as Percy walked near them while Grover was fanboying over the goddess, Thalia was glaring at one of the hunters that was glaring at her back. "Don't call me kiddo!" The voy complained, Draco raised an eyebrow that was hidden by his mask, "Then what should I call you?" He asked, "Nico! Nico Di Angelo," the kid yelled smiling at him showing a tiny gap in his teeth. "Alright Nico, I'm Draco nice meeting you," he chuckled and walked a little behind the hunters Nico's sister walking with the hunters. "What's your sisters name?" He asked Nico. "Her name is Bianca she's my older sister, and she's super cool!"

"I'm sure she is come, we're getting a bit too far from the hunters," Draco said and both made their way to the group. Draco noticed that they were explaining the 'Demigod awakening' to Bianca and explaining to her what camp is. Nico heard what they were talking about and said, "Sweet! Lets go!"

"Wait," Bianca said looking uncertain, "I don't—" "There is another option," one of the hunters said, Draco noticed the silver like tiara in her head and instantly recognized her as Zoë Nightshade, Artemis lieutenant, "No, there isn't," Thalia growled and Zoë glared at her Thalia doing the same.

"We've burden these children enough," Artemis announced, "Zoë, we will rest here for a few hours. Raise the tents. Treat the wounded. Retrieve our guests' belongings from the school."

"Yes, my lady," Zoë said. Artemis then turned to look at Bianca, "And, Bianca, come with me. I would like to speak with you."

"What about me?" Nico asked, Draco placed his hand on Nico's shoulder whatever Artemis wanted with Bianca must not be good for Nico,

Artemis looked at Nico with a thoughtful look, "Perhaps you can show your friend how to play that card game you enjoy. I'm sure he'll would be happy to entertain you for a while... as a favor to me?" Artemis looked at Draco with a harden, "Sure Lady Artemis, come on Nico," Draco said pulling Nico towards the woods. Draco sat in the snow not caring that his jeans were getting wet by the snow and payed attention to Nico as he babbled on about his Mythomagic cards. "Hey Nico," Draco calles out to the boy.

He glanced at Draco giving him his full attention, "yeah?" He tilted his head. "Want to see a magic trick?" He asked and Nico nodded his head in excitement. "Give me a card that repeats or one that's very ugly," Nico passed him an old card that had Hades in it, Draco took it and crushed it with his hand, a soft blue glow came from his closed palm, and he opened his hand. Revealing a paper bird, he grabbed the bottom of his mask and pulled it upwards just so that his mouth could show and softly blew on the paper bird. The bird flew out of Draco's hand and flew around the woods circling some tree branches before landing softly on Nico's cards. Nico gapped at the bird and looked at Draco before asking ,"How did you do it?" Draco putted his mask back in place and said, "it's a secret~"

Nico whined at his answer, "Come let us go back." They both went back to find Grover healing a wound on Percy's arm, Draco felt guilty that he didn't payed enough attention at the fight Dr. Thorn and Percy had but ignored it. Nico went towards them and started asking questions about Demi-Gods and what not. After a while Artemis came and asked Percy to follow her, Zoë went with them and left them all alone with the hunters. When they came back Zoë was muttering something about foolish campers. "-And now there is one last decision to make," Artemis said turning to Bianca. "Have you made up your mind, my girl?" Artemis asked, Bianca hesitated, "I'm still thinking about it."

"Wait," Percy said. "Thinking about what?" He asked. Draco nodded along with him. Bianca looked at him with hesitation, "They... they've invited me to join the Hunt." Bianca revealed.

"What? But you can't! You have to come to Camp Half-Blood so Chiron can train you. It's the only way you can learn to survive!" Percy said confused. Draco stopped and looked at her, 'What about Nico? Was she abandoning him at camp?' Draco thought. 'If that's the case she might as well be the reincarnation of his mother, not only will they look alike, but they'll abandoned their family," Draco thought bitterly. "It is not the only way for a girl," Zoë said. Percy looked at Bianca like he couldn't believe what she was saying, "Bianca, camp is cool! It's got a pegasus stable and a

sword-fighting arena and... I mean, what do you get by joining the Hunters?" Percy asked.

"To begin with," Zoë said, "immortality."

Percy stared at her, then at Artemis. "She's kidding, right?"

"Zoe rarely kids about anything," Artemis said, "My Hunters follow me on my adventures. They are my maidservants, my companions, my sisters-in-arms. Once they swear loyalty to me, they are indeed immortal... unless they fall in battle, which is unlikely. Or break their oath."

"What oath?" Percy asked. "To foreswear romantic love forever," Artemis said, "To never grow up, never get married. To be a maiden eternally."

"Like you?" Percy said. The goddess nodded.

Percy looked at her with a thoughtful look, "So you just go around the country recruiting half-bloods—"

"Not just half-bloods," Zoë interrupted. "Lady Artemis does not discriminate by birth. All who honor the goddess may join. Half-bloods, nymphs, mortals—"

"Which are you, then?" Percy asked and Draco face palmed, "oh my gods Percy, you can't just ask people what they are!" Draco said looking at Percy. "Why not?" Percy asked. Draco just shook his head and turned at Nico who was staring at them in confusion.

"That is not thy concern, boy. The point is Bianca may join if she wishes. It is her choice," Draco heard Zoë say in an angry tone. "Bianca, this is crazy," Percy said that was one of the things Draco agreed with Percy but whatever it'll be her choice at the end. "What about your brother? Nico can't be a Hunter," Percy argued. "Certainly not," Artemis agreed. "He will go to camp. Unfortunately, that's the best boys can do," Artemis said glancing at Nico with and uninterested look. "Hey!" Percy yelled offendedly. "You can see him from time to time," Artemis assured Bianca ignoring Percy, "But you will be free of responsibility. He will have the camp counselors to take care of him. And you will have a new family. Us."

"A new family," Bianca repeated dreamily. "Free of responsibility," Artemis nodded and smiled at her. "Bianca, you can't do this," Percy said. "It's nuts."

Bianca didn't answer and looked at Zoë. "Is it worth it?" She asked, Zoe nodded, "It is."

"What do I have to do?" Bianca asked. "Say this," Zoe told her, "'I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis.'"

"I... I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis," Bianca repeated hesitantly, "'I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt,'" Zoë finished and Bianca repeated it, "That's it?" Bianca asked, Zoë nodded. "If Lady Artemis accepts thy pledge, then it is binding," Zoë said glancing at Artemis. "I accept it," Artemis said.

The flames in the brazier brightened, casting a silver glow over the room. Bianca looked no different, but she took a deep breath and opened her eyes wide. "I feel... stronger," she muttered. "Welcome, sister," Zoe said. "Remember your pledge," Artemis said. "It is now your life." Draco's mouth dried he felt like he somehow failed Nico, and his tale was beginning to repeat.

"Do not despair, Percy Jackson," Artemis said, "You will still get to show the di Angelos your camp. And if Nico so chooses, he can stay there."

"Great," Percy said. "How are we supposed to get there?" He asked, Artemis closed her eyes. "Dawn is approaching. Zoë, break camp. You must get to Long Island quickly and safely. I shall summon a ride from my brother."

Zoë didn't look real happy about this idea, but she nodded and told Bianca to follow her. As she was leaving, Bianca paused in front of Percy and looked at Draco he was still holding unto Nico's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Percy...But I want this. I really, really do," Bianca said and followed Zoë. "So," Percy said glumly. "We're going to get a ride from your brother, huh?" Percy asked looking at the 12 year old goddess, Artemis's silver eyes gleamed. "Yes, boy. You see, Bianca di Angelo is not the only one with an annoying brother. It's time for you to meet my irresponsible twin, Apollo."

oOo

After waiting for Apollo to appear and Bianca took Nico from Draco, to explain what she had done. Draco respected her that she at least explained her decision to Nico, not everyone abandons their family and explain why they left and just leaves them to wonder what they had done so wrong to make them go away—Draco shook his head there's no time to duel in the past. When Apollo appeared they all talked and went into his changing bus thingy, one thing that Draco learned from Apollo don't. Ever. Let. Thalia. Drive. Ever. Draco's hands hurt from gripping Apollo's seat so hard. Once they got to camp they all left the bus dizzily Draco happily plopped down to the ground.

Draco then stood up and held a hand towards Nico, "Come I'll show you where you'll be staying." Nico nodded and followed Draco to cabin eleven: Hermes cabin. After lunch it was announced that camp was going to play with the hunters and the normal tradition started, they were going to play capture the flag with the hunters and lose for the 100th time. Draco stood by Nico, Percy, and Thalia armor ready and this time he decided to have a sword with him, he'll use his dagger if he needs too. "You've already got Ares on your bad side," Draco heard Thalia say to Percy as they made their way to the field. "You need another immortal enemy?" She asked. "Sorry," Percy said, "I couldn't help it. It's just so unfair." Thalia stopped by the armory and looked out across the valley, toward the top of Half-Blood Hill. Her pine tree was still there, the Golden Fleece glittering in its lowest branch. The tree's magic still protected the borders of camp, but it no longer used Thalia's spirit for power. "Percy, everything is unfair," Thalia muttered. "Sometimes I wish..." she trailed of and Draco left and moved a bit far he felt that what she wanted to share with Percy was going to be personal, and he didn't want to interfere with their moment.

He went up to Nico and started teaching the basics of how to use a sword. He'll need it for his first game and even if they lose Draco wanted this game to be the best experience for him. Nico deserves it for all the shit his been through so far. After a while lunch time started and Percy came out of his cabin, he had bed hair so Draco assumed that he took a nap. He sat at the Hermes table with Nico squeezed next to him, Nico was happily eating some snacks he wanted while Draco settles for some fruit. He didn't feel like eating, but he knew that he'll need the extra energy for the game. Draco noticed Percy talking to Grover and he couldn't help but eavesdrop on their conversation by the look on Percy's face. He heard that Artemis was kidnapped and Annabeth was tricked by... Luke. Draco poked his fruit he didn't want to eat anymore with the learned information.

When the horn aired again they all left the lunch area and prepared to play capture the flag. Draco glanced around and took notice of who were on their L team, they had Beckendorf and two other camper from the Hephaestus cabin, a few from the Ares cabin, the Stoll brothers, Nico, and himself from Hermes cabin, and a few Aphrodite kids. It was weird that the Aphrodite cabin wanted to play. Usually they sat on the sidelines, chatted, and checked their reflections in the river and stuff, but when they heard we were fighting the Hunters, they were raring to go.

"I'll show them 'love is worthless,'" Silena Beauregard grumbled as she strapped on her armor. "I'll pulverize them!" That left Percy with Thalia. "I'll take the offense," Thalia volunteered. "You take defense," she said adjusting her shield. "Oh," Draco heard Percy hesitate, probably because he normally takes offense in these games. "Don't you think with your shield and all, you'd be better defense?" Percy asked Thalia, but she already had Aegis on her arm, and even their own teammates were giving her a wide berth, trying not to cower before the bronze head of Medusa.

"Well, I was thinking it would make better offense," Thalia said. "Besides, you've had more practice at defense." Draco didn't know if she was teasing Percy, but he felt uneasy.

"Yeah, no problem," Percy said Draco stepped close to him, "I'll join Percy with defense." He told Thalia. "Cool," She said turning to help some of the Aphrodite kids, who were having trouble suiting up their armor without breaking their nails. Nico ran up to them with a big grin on his face.

"Percy, Draco, this is awesome!" His blue-feathered bronze helmet was falling in his eyes, and his breastplate was about six sizes too big. Draco chuckled at Nico and ruffled the helmets feathers, "You look ridiculous in a good way." Nico whined at Draco and lifted his sword with effort. "Do we get to kill the other team?" Nico asked, "Well... no." Percy muttered. "But the Hunters are immortal, right?" Nico asked Draco, "That's only if they don't fall in battle, and no they can't come back, Nico. These are real swords and we got to be careful with alright?" Draco asked gently and patted Nico's shoulder as Thalia ad Percy announced the others positions.

Draco, Nico, and Percy climbed into Zeus's Fist and Draco took a moment to look into the camp the lands and woods bringing a familiar smell. A safe place, a home. "Can you guys hold the fort?" Percy suddenly asked. "Of course," Beckendorf snorted and with that Percy took of to the woods and Draco saw him grab the hunters flag after accidentally hitting the girl guarding it. Draco looked behind him when he heard a snap and saw Zoë down Zeus Fist. 'Shit!,' Draco cursed before grabbing one of the Stolls and pointing at Zoë. "Looks like we've got company," One of the Stolls said and they all looked alarmed at seeing Zoë. She took noticed that she had been seen and started climbing upwards and tried to take the flag. Draco quickly tools the flag away from her grasp and saw the other hunters behind her. He jumped down and started running away from them, they other fought against them. At this moment Draco wished Percy was here already so that they could win this game for the first time.

Draco glanced behind him and saw Zoë running towards him, in a moment of panic he grabbed one of the branches from a tree and started climbing upwards. The hunters might be good at everything, but Draco bets that they aren't good at jumping from tree to tree. Once he was on top of the tree Zoë started climbing and other hunters aimed their arrows at him. Draco saw a tree nearby and jumped towards it grabbing at the branch that he landed on and pulled himself up, he repeated the action making sure to jump on the most random trees and places, so that the hunters can't shoot at him with their arrows. Sadly one of the hunters caught on with his plan and shot and arrows and him midair, the arrow pierced the back of his left thigh. Draco colapses on the next tree with a yelp and clutched the branch and the flag, he tried to pull himself upwards with one arm and putted all his force on it and carefully pulled the arm with the flag next to his other arm. He glanced down and saw that he had climbed up a bit too far to fall without breaking an ankle. He carefully pulled his body upwards and sat on the branch, he clutched the flag as he saw Zoë and her hunters not so far away. One of the hunters glanced at his invited thigh and winced, 'does it really look that bad?' He thought and looked at his bloodied thigh, the point of the arrow was peaking out of his thigh from the other side. 'The arrow pierced right through his thigh from behind and got stuck in the process, great just what I needed,' he thought bitterly.

Draco grabbed the tip of the arrow and pulled upwards, hard and fast he completely pulled out the arrow from his thigh and tossed it down. Draco pulled one of his arm guards and adjusted it on his thigh to stop the blood flow. He carefully got up and jumped to the next tree. This might've disgusted the hunters, but they didn't shoot that many arrows anymore. He was able to get a little ahead of them and hid in one of the trees as best as he could. His thigh burned and he could still feel the blood on his hand and thigh. He looked around and noticed Percy running in the distance his hand clutching the hunters flag. Draco pressed himself closer to the tree when he saw one of the hunters below him, she was glancing around to see if he was anywhere on the ground. Draco placed his hand on the branch on top of him, then he stopped when he noticed the branch starting to turn black as if it where dying... Draco's eyes widen in horror as he quickly let go of the branch.

Once he let go the branch snapped and fell down, the hunters below him jumped and looked upward, noticing him instantly. She shouted for her teammates and Draco prepared to jump when his foot got stuck on one of the branches making him fell down the tree and lose his grasp on the flag. Draco's breath left him when he landed in his stomach on one of the thick branches, he wheezed and gripped the branch, at the bottom the huntress grabbed the flag and left. Draco rolled his eyes and carefully made his way down the tree. When he was finally on ground level he glanced where he saw Percy last and noticed Zoë sprinting at Percy in full speed, until she slammed on him and took their flag.

"The Hunters win!" Chiron announced without pleasure. Then he muttered, "For the fifty- sixth time in a row."

"Perseus Jackson!" Thalia yelled, storming toward Percy. Draco quickly limped his way towards them and took noticed of the horrible smell. Everybody cringed and backed up because of Aegis. "What in the name of the gods were you THINKING?" she bellowed. That must've been the wrong thing to say as Percy balled his fist and yelled, "I got the flag, Thalia!" He shook it in her face for good measure. "I saw a chance and I took it!" He angrily muttered. Draco made his way to Percy and placed his hand on his shoulder slightly leaning on him making sure it wasn't the one with his blood in it. "I WAS AT THEIR BASE!" Thalia yelled. "But the flag was gone. If you hadn't butted in, we would've won." Draco sighed, "You couldn't have won anyways the hunters got the flag from the beginning." Percy and Thalia Both ignored him, "You had too many on you!" Percy yelled. "Oh, so it's my fault?" Thalia fires back. "I didn't say that," Percy said. "Argh!" Thalia said and pushed both Percy and Draco. Draco felt a shock went through his body that blew him and Percy backward ten feet into the water. Some of the campers gasped. A couple of the Hunters stifled laughs. "Sorry!" Thalia said, turning pale. "I didn't mean to—"

Anger roared in Draco. A wave erupted from the creek, blasting into Thalia's face and dousing her from head to toe.

Percy stood up besides Draco. "Yeah," he growled. "I didn't mean to, either." Thalia was breathing heavily. "Enough!" Chiron ordered.

But Thalia held out her spear. "You want some, Seaweed Brain?" She growled. Percy took out riptide, "Bring it on, Pinecone Face!"

"GUYS STOP!" Draco yelled as he limped out of the water. "NOWS NOT THE TIME TO FIGHT!" He wasn't aware that with every step he took the glass around him wilted out and died. Draco placed himself between Thalia and Percy at least that way they'll hurt him instead of each other. Draco raised both his hands at his side when Thalia yelled, and a blast of lightning came down from the sky, hit her spear like a lightning rod, and slammed into his chest. Draco slammed into Percy and groaned in pain. There was a burning smell; Draco had a feeling it was his clothes. "Thalia!" Chiron said. "That is enough!"

Draco got to his feet along Percy in a flash of anger Percy willed the entire creek to rise. It swirled up, hundreds of gallons of water in a massive icy funnel cloud. "Percy!" Chiron pleaded. Draco grabbed his hand, "Percy please!" The sound of his voice made him cringe but it made Percy hesitant into hurling the water at Thalia, Draco glanced at Thalia and saw something in the woods. He lost his grip on Percy all at once. The water splashed back into the creekbed. Thalia was so surprised she turned to see what they were looking at.

Someone... something was approaching. It was shrouded in a murky green mist, but as it got closer, the campers and Hunters gasped.

"This is impossible," Chiron said. Draco had never heard him sound so nervous. "It... she has never left the attic. Never," he said. And yet, the withered mummy that held the Oracle shuffled forward until she stood in the center of the group. Mist curled around our feet, turning the snow a sickly shade of green.

None of them dared move. Then her voice hissed inside Draco's head. Apparently everyone could hear it, because several clutched their hands over the ears.

'I am the sprit of Delphi,' the voice said. 'Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python,' The Oracle regarded them with its cold, dead eyes. Then she turned unmistakably toward Zoe Nightshade. 'Approach, Seeker, and ask,' the Oracle said. Zoë swallowed. "What must I do to help my goddess?"

The Oracle's mouth opened, and green mist poured out. Draco saw the vague image of a mountain, and a girl standing at the barren peak. It was Artemis, but she was wrapped in chains, fettered to the rocks. She was kneeling, her hands raised as if to fend off an attacker, and it looked like she was in pain. The Oracle spoke:

'_Six __shall go west to the goddess in chains,_

_One shall be lost in the land without rain,_

_The bane of Olympus shows the trail,_

_Campers and Hunters combined prevail,_

_The Titan's curse must one withstand,_

_And one shall perish by a parent's hand.'_

Then, as they were watching, the mist swirled and retreated like a great green serpent into the mummy's mouth. The Oracle sat down on a rock and became as still as she'd been in the attic, as if she might sit by this creek for a hundred years.

**Aaaaaannnndddd done! Sorry that this chapter was pretty short, school has been a bit of bitch this week and didn't let me write much. So, I hope you take this Nico and Draco friendship and prepare for the next chapter. I hope you have a very nice day!**

**-D.**


	17. Sneaking Out Of Camp

_'Six shall go west to the goddess in chains,_

_One shall be lost in the land without rain,_

_The bane of Olympus shows the trail,_

_Campers and Hunters combined prevail,_

_The Titan's curse must one withstand,_

_And one shall perish by a parent's hand.'_

_Then, as they were watching, the mist swirled and retreated like a great green serpent into the mummy's_ _mouth. The Oracle sat down on a rock and became as still as she'd been in the attic, as if she might sit by this creek for a hundred years._

**3rd Person P.O.V.**

Draco woke up in the afternoon, he was tired after playing capture the flag and had just been discharged from the infirmary by a son of Apollo named Will Solace. Quite the doctor and a pretty nice guy by the way, he sighed and got off his sleeping bag and off to find Percy.

Draco checked most of the places that he thought Percy could be in he checked the beach, the lunchroom, the practicing arena, even went to see if he was in his cabin, but to no use. Right now he was heading to where they kept the Pegasus and hold and behold, Percy was there. "Finally found you," He said as he walked up to Percy. Percy looked startled at the sound of Draco's voice and stopped talking to a pitch back Pegasus behind him. "Oh- uh.. sorry..?" Percy said as he scratched the back of his head looking sheepishly at Draco.

Draco chuckled and just stared at Percy, "You want to go save her, am I right?" Draco asked Percy, and before he could say anything back he interrupted him. "I'll go with you, she's my friend too besides two is better than one," Draco smirked at Percy as he saw him gap at him, "How- What?" Percy said stumbling with his words as he looked at Draco with a look of shock mix with confusion. "I said I'll go with you to the quest. Following the hunters I mean," Draco rubbed his nose through his mask. Percy nodded and they sat down and planned what they were going to do.

oOo

They both waited until the hunters left the big house to make their move as they went to the woods where they expected to meet up with the Pegasus that agreed to help them, BlackJack. Draco stopped and grabbed Percy's wrist when he heard a loud

_SNAP!_

Draco jumped and look over to the place where he thought the sound came from. He let out a sigh of relief when he noticed it was just Nico in some of the bushes. When Nico looked up he smiled sheepishly at being caught and got off the bush, Draco tilted his head at Percy as saying 'I'll-handle-this-you-go-we'll-meet-up-later.' Percy caught on and just nodded leaving Draco alone with Nico. "Hey kiddo, what are you doing here?" Draco asked Nico.

Nico just looked down, "I-I just wanted to go with you and Percy... I know you're going to follow the hunters, so I thought I could come and spend more time with Bianca," Nico mumbled his shoes playing with the dirt beneath him. Draco let out a smile even if he knew that Nico wouldn't see it, he kneeled in front of Nico. "You know that you can't get out of the camp without getting in trouble with Chiron, so yeah Percy and I are going but that's because we have experience in it. So, how about this you stay here and make some friends while we're gone and once we come back we'll tell you all about the quest, alright?" He asked Nico softly, Nico just nodded and frowned a bit. "Okay... just promise me you and Percy will look after Bianca for me," Nico said looking straight into Draco's eyes.

Draco sighed, "We'll try our best at looking out for her, but Bianca's a big girl now she knows what she's doing. Anyways here let me give you something." Nico looked up excitedly at Draco. Draco search his right pocket and pulled out a brown bag, he grabbed the top of the bag and pulled sideways making the bag open up. Draco gently grabbed Nico's hand and turned the bag letting its continents fall into Nico's hand. "There it's yours just make sure that no one at the cabin sees it, I'm sure they'll try to steal it," Draco chuckled softly as Nico looked at the necklace with awe. "Wow..," Nico whispered softly and wore the necklace in his fragile neck, the circled shape emerald-like crystal shined brightly in contrast of the brown leather wrapped around the top. "Well I have to go kiddo, I'll see you later," Draco said getting up and walking were Percy went. "WAIT!" He heard Nico shout behind him before he could Draco felt small arms wrap around him, he tensed in the hug but soon relaxed in the embrace. Nico let go and try to grab something from his back pocket, "Here so we can match!" He gave Draco a necklace that look exactly like what he gave him but it was blue mixed with gray instead. He carefully putted the necklace on, "Thanks kiddo." Draco said and finally started walking to his destination.

oOo

Once on top of the mountain Draco walked towards Percy who was currently having a discussion with BlackJack. "We can go now, I handled Nico," Draco said and soon both placed themselves on the Pegasus. Before they even left land vines suddenly crawled around them, "Going somewhere?" Draco heard the drawl voice of Mr. D say. "I expected better from you, Daniel. With the whole dolphin accident that happened when you first got here," Mr. D continued and Draco jabbed Percy with his elbow when he started to snicker. "This is not a quest that belongs to you, especially when you have that sword with you, Peter Johnson," Mr. D said now looking at Percy. Percy frowned when Mr. D started to talk about silly hero's and how they are never gonna learn before the vines got off of them. "You'll... you'll just let us go?" Draco asked surprise at Mr. D. He waved his hand dismissively. "Go, follow your silly friends besides the prophecy says at least two of you will die. Perhaps I'll get lucky and you'll be one of them. But mark my words, Son of Poseidon, live or die, you will prove no better than the other heroes," and with that the God of Wine was gone.

Try travels through the su following the hunters alongside Thalia and stopped in Maryland to let BlackJack rest. They decided to go to a nearby store to get something to drink while BlackJack rested but that plan was soon thrown out the window as they saw Bianca, Zoë, Grover, and Thalia get out of the store they were going to enter. Draco hid as Percy places Annabeth's invisibility cap on, turning invisible instantly. Draco casted a notice-me-not charm suddenly thankful that Mrs. Gladestone was an American tutor and not British. As soon as the group where far away they decided to go barefooted for now and let BlackJack get a rest. The poor Pegasus had been flying them for half a day after all. They where at least able to get to the Washington Monument before he plopped down, Percy told BlackJack to go to camp.

After that both Percy and Draco looked over to the white van the others where traveling in, Draco saw Grover and froze when he saw Dr. Thorn a block away, the door of a black sedan opened, and disguised as a man with gray hair and a military buzz cut got out. He was wearing dark shades and a black overcoat. Draco lightly grabbed Percy's arm and pointed to where Dr. Thorn was. Draco began to worry when recognition crossed Percy's face. "I'd seen this same car a couple of times on the highway, going south. It had been following the van," Percy muttered eyes still fixed on Dr. Thorn. Dr. Thorn took out a mobile phone and said something into it. Then he looked around, like he was making sure the coast was clear, and started walking down the Mall in the direction of the group.

When he turned to face both Percy and Draco, he couldn't convince himself that maybe that wasn't the same monster that took Annabeth. Draco looked at Percy and nodded, Percy doing the same by placing the invisibility cap back on, and both followed Dr. Thorn from a distance. Draco froze slightly at all the monsters that where in the store they followed Thorn in but hopped that with all those monsters they couldn't smell them. Draco mouth dried when he saw the state Luke was in to put it simply he looked like absolute shit, as if an actual car ran over him. Both Luke and Thorn started to discussed and soon another monster joined them by the way Luke acted near him he was the General or at least the boss of all these monsters. The General then planted some kind of seeds into a pile dirt and watered them, Draco tensed a little when the dirt started to bubble and something emerged from it. "Soon," the General said, "I will show you, Luke, soldiers that will make your army from that little boat look insignificant."

Luke clenched his fists. "I've spent a year training my forces! When the Princess Andromeda arrives at the mountain, they'll be the best—"

"Ha.'" the General said. "I don't deny your troops will make a fine honor guard for Lord Kronos. And you, of course, will have a role to play—"

Draco noticed Luke turn even paler when the General said that. "—but under my leadership, the forces of Lord Kronos will increase a hundredfold. We will be unstoppable. Behold, my ultimate killing machines." The soil erupted and both Draco and Percy stepped back nervously. In each spot where a tooth had been planted, a creature was struggling out of the dirt. The first of them said: "Mew?" It was a kitten. A little orange tabby with stripes like a tiger. Then another appeared, until there were a dozen, rolling around and playing in the dirt.

Everyone stared at them in disbelief. The General roared, "What is this? Cute cuddly kittens? Where did you find those teeth?"

The guard who'd brought the teeth cowered in fear. "From the exhibit, sir! Just like you said. The saber-toothed tiger—"

"No, you idiot! I said the tyrannosaurus! Gather up those... those infernal fuzzy little beasts and take them outside. And never let me see your face again," the General growled at the terrified guard dropped his watering can. He gathered up the kittens and scampered out of the room. "You.'" The General pointed to another guard. "Get me the right teeth. NOW!" The new guard ran off to carry out his orders. "Imbeciles,' muttered the General. "This is why I don't use mortals," Luke said. "They are unreliable," he grumbled. "They are weak-minded, easily bought, and violent," the General said. "I love them." A minute later, the guard hustled into the room with his hands full of large pointy teeth. "Excellent," the General said. He climbed onto the balcony railing and jumped down, twenty feet. Where he landed, the marble floor cracked under his leather shoes. He stood, wincing, and rubbed his shoulders. "Curse my stiff neck," he said massaging the area. "Another hot pad, sir?" a guard asked. "More Tylenol?"

"No! It will pass." The General brushed off his silk suit, then snatched up the teeth, "I shall do this myself." He held up one of the teeth and smiled. "Dinosaur teeth—ha! Those foolish mortals don't even know when they have dragon teeth in their possession. And not just any dragon teeth. These come from the ancient Sybaris herself! They shall do nicely." He planted them in the dirt, twelve in all. Then he scooped up the watering can. He sprinkled the soil with red liquid, tossed the can away, and held his arms out wide. "Rise!" He roared, then the dirt trembled. A single, skeletal hand shot out of the ground, grasping at the air. The General looked up at the balcony. "Quickly, do you have the scent?" The General asked a monster in the crowd. "Yesssss, lord," one of the snake ladies said. She took out a sash of silvery fabric, like the kind the Hunters wore.

"Excellent," the General said. "Once my warriors catch its scent, they will pursue its owner relentlessly. Nothing can stop them, no weapons known to half-blood or Hunter. They will tear the Hunters and their allies to shreds. Toss it here!" As he said that, skeletons erupted from the ground. There were twelve of them, one for each tooth the General had planted. The skeletons where way different from any of the skeletons Draco ever read about in school, the skeletons body was growing flesh as he watched, turning into men, but men with dull gray skin, yellow eyes, and modern clothes—gray muscle shirts, camo pants, and combat boots. They looked like a normal human being, good enough to confuse a Demigod too, they also have Draco a weird feeling. One of them was looking at their direction, Draco felt Percy then sprinted to the stage and snatched the scarf out of the air. "What's this?" bellowed the General. A loud thumb was heard from the stage and Draco knew that was Percy. "An intruder," the General growled. "One cloaked in darkness. Seal the doors!" Draco raised his hand and casted a blinding spell, "Percy we have to go!" He yelled and ran to the exit, he heard a ripping sound and stopped at the door until he felt Percy rum passed him and followed him as best as he could.

Once far away Draco and Percy stopped running, "Percy, we have to find the others!" Draco said taking deep breaths. "Oh I know that, but if we do them that skeleton thingy will follow MY sent and find them!" Percy exclaimed waving his arms around. Draco rolled his eyes at Percy's sassiness, "I think I know a way to confuse the tyrannosaurus." Draco said hoping his plan on using magic could work. Percy gave him a confused look, "Give me your arm." Draco asked and grabbed it gently, "This'll feel a bit weird but don't move."

'non nidore' Draco muttered and continued to hold on to Percy's arm. "What did it do?" Percy asked, "'Cause I didn't feel anything." Draco just kept quiet, "I'm trying to control the most into giving is a different look, then the tyrannosaurus might smell you but they'll hesitate when they don't recognize you. Especially if we're close to an area with people," Draco said and looked around while Percy took the cap off. Draco glamoured himself like he'll usually do and glanced at Percy to see if it passed the effect to him.

Draco smirked when he saw Percy's jet black hair a ginger color with blue eyes and pale skin, "You look like a soulless ginger now Percy." He snickered when Percy dragged him to the nearest mirror, "Holly shit.." he heard Percy mutter as he checked himself in the mirror. "Come we got to hurry and get to the group," Draco said moving through the crowd of people.

**Aaaaaaannnnddd done! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I apologize in advance that it took a bit of more time than usual heh... Anyways, hope you liked the tiny brotherly moment between Draco and Nico, they'll be more coming soon! See you in the next chapter.**

**-D.**


	18. A Dam Snackbar

_Draco smirked when he saw Percy's jet black hair a ginger color with blue eyes and pale skin, "You look like a soulless ginger now Percy." He snickered when Percy dragged him to the nearest mirror, "Holly shit.." he heard Percy mutter as he checked himself in the mirror. "Come we got to hurry and get to the group," Draco said moving through the crowd of people._

**3rd Person P.O.V.**

After Percy and Draco managed to find the group and defeat the lion the General send as a distraction, they all headed to the van after Zoë accepted them into the group. Percy and Draco both shared their worries about still being in he van as Dr. Thorn had been following them without their knowledge. Soon the group found themselves in Washington D.C. in the subways.

oOo

Draco ran his hand through his hair, he didn't know what to think of Bianca anymore. He was angry at her for joining the hundreds and leaving Nico, but he understood that she just wanted to be able to feel and perhaps act as a child she wasn't able to be. It made Draco wonder if his mother left him because she was too young or did she just didn't want him in general. Another look into Bianca is the fact that she seems to be from the past, and if his suspicion is correct (which they were) she might've come from Lotus Hotel and Casino, a hotel Draco knew much about thanks to late experience. He wondered if Nico remembered anything from his time in the hotel or if he just had simply forgotten everything.

Draco decided not to dwell on that and focus on the problem ahead of them, they needed to free Artemis and if they can save Annabeth as well, but with how much obstacles he general placed, he didn't know how long it'll take to get there. 'Negative thoughts won't get us nowhere,' He thought, 'So quit thinking them.'

The group stopped talking when they noticed a limo being pulled up next to them. A man stepped out of the limo and when he did he called for Percy, the man's aura made Draco feel restless and angry. 'A gods aura,' he thought. 'And only one god can make someone restless and angry, Ares.' The god of war stood near the limos door as Percy talked to someone inside. After a while Percy finally stepped out of the limo and started to discuss with the god of war. "—Not bad, punk. But you got nothing on the master of taunts. I'll start the fight when I'm good and ready. Until then… Get lost," Draco heard the god say before they where all transported into a junkyard.

"Who wanted to talk to you in the limo, Percy?" Thalia asked. "Aphrodite," Percy muttered quietly. "Why would she want to talk to you though?" Bianca asked with a face full of confusion. "Oh, uh, not sure," Percy said looking at the side, "She said to be careful in her husband's junkyard. She said not to pick anything up." Zoë narrowed her eyes. "The goddess of love would not make a special trip to tell thee that. Be careful, Percy. Aphrodite has led many heroes astray." Draco nodded with Zoë and loonies over to Thalia. "For once I agree with Zoe, you can't trust Aphrodite," Thalia said. "So, how do we get out of here?" Draco asked after a moment of silence. "That way, that is west," Zoë said rolling her eyes at Draco. "How can you tell?" Percy asked. "Ursa Major is in the north," she said, "which means that must be west." Zoë pointed west, then at the northern constellation, which was hard to make out because there were so many other stars. "Oh, yeah, the bear thingy," Percy said, Draco stifled a chuckle as Zoë looked offended, "Show some respect. It was a fine bear. A worthy opponent."

"You act like it was real," Percy shot back his arms crossed a bit. "Guys," Grover broke in. "Look!" Draco turn around to see what Grover was pointing at, piles of metal objects glinted in the moonlight: broken heads of bronze horses, metal legs from human statues, smashed chariots, tons of shields and swords and other weapons, along with more modern stuff, like cars that gleamed gold and silver, refrigerators, washing machines, and computer monitors. "Whoa," Bianca said, "That stuff… some of it looks like real gold." Thalia looked at the junk the at Bianca, "It is." She said grimly, "Like Percy said, don't touch anything. This is the junkyard of the gods," Thalia said. "Junk?" Grover picked up a beautiful crown made of gold, silver, and jewels. It was broken on one side, as if it had been split by an axe. "You call this junk?" Grover said as he proceeded to bite off a point and began to chew. "It's delicious!"

Thalia swatted the crown out of his hands. "I'm serious!" She said sounding annoyed. "Look!" Draco heard Bianca say as she raced down the hill, tripping over bronze coils and golden plates. She picked up a bow that glowed silver in moonlight. "A Hunter's bow!" She yelped in surprise as the bow began to shrink, and became a hair clip shaped like a crescent moon. "It's just like Percys sword!" Zoë's face was grim. "Leave it, Bianca."

"But—"

"It is here for a reason. Anything thrown away in this junkyard must stay in this yard. It is defective. Or cursed," Zoë said firmly and Bianca reluctantly set the hair clip down. "I don't like this place," Thalia said as she gripped the shaft of her spear. "As much as I want to explore this we should get going, the stuff in here was placed here for a reason," Draco said as he walked over to Bianca and look back at the group, tilting his head as saying 'Are-you-coming-or-what?' They started picking their way through the hills and valleys of junk. The stuff seemed to go on forever, and if it hadn't been for Ursa Major, they would've gotten lost. All the hills were identical copies of each other some stuff was different but it was hard to tell.

After a while they finally, saw the edge of the junkyard about half a mile ahead of them, the lights of a highway stretching through the desert. "What is that?" Bianca gasped. Draco looked ahead of them to see a hill much bigger and longer than the others. It was like a metal mesa, the length of a Quidditch field and as tall as goalposts. At one end of the mesa was a row of ten thick metal columns, wedged tightly together. Bianca frowned. "They look like—"

"Toes," Grover said. Bianca nodded. "Really, really large toes," she said nervously, Zoë and Thalia exchanged nervous looks. "Let's go around," Thalia said. "Far around."

"But the road is right over there," Percy protested. "Quicker to climb over."

"Percy I don't think we should go there," Draco said as whatever was ahead of them was making both Thalia and Zoë nervous, was making him too.

_Ping._

Thalia hefted her spear and Zoë drew her bow, Draco took out the sword he brought, but he realized it was only Grover. He had thrown a piece of scrap metal at the toes and hit one, making a deep echo, as if the column were hollow. "Why did you do that?" Zoe demanded. "I don't know. I, uh, don't like fake feet?" Grover said cringing away from Zoë. "Come on we should just go around," Draco said and they started to walk around the pile weary glances turning to it once in a while. After several minutes of walking, they finally stepped onto the highway, an abandoned but well-lit stretch of black asphalt. "We made it out," Zoe said. "Thank the gods." Just as Zoë said that Draco heard a crashing sound of metal scrapping metal behind them, startled everyone turned around. Behind them, the scrap mountain was boiling, rising up. Draco's heart thumped in his chest as he saw the pile turn into a more humanoid shape, 'Hephaestus guardian,' Draco realized. The thing that rose up from the metal was a bronze giant in full Greek battle armor. He gleamed wickedly in the moonlight as he looked down at them, staring at them with his deformed face. The left side was partially melted off. His joints creaked with rust, and across his armored chest, written in thick dust by some giant finger, were the words WASH ME. "Talos!" Zoe gasped.

Talos moved one hand to his sword belt and drew his weapon. The sound of it coming out of its sheath was horrible, metal screeching against metal. The blade was a hundred feet long, easy. The sword was rusty and old but getting hit with that thing would be like getting hit with a bunch of boldgers. "Someone took something," Zoe said. "Who took something?" She stared accusingly at Percy and Draco. Both raised their arms to show that they didn't have anything except their weapons. Bianca didn't say anythings but the look of guilt gave Draco the answer, the giant defective Talos took one step toward them, closing half the distance and making the ground shake. "Run!" Grover yelled.

They split up and as he ran Draco saw Thalia draw her shield and held it up as she ran down the highway. The giant swung his sword and took out a row of power lines, which exploded in sparks and scattered across Thalia's path. Zoë's arrows whistled toward the creature's face but shattered harmlessly against the metal. Grover brayed like a baby goat and went climbing up a mountain of metal Percy running at the direction close to him. That left Draco with Bianca who hid behind a broken chariot. "You took something and whatever you took just throw it down!" Draco whispered as he saw Bianca grip something in her hand, "It's too late she said." Draco look at her eyes serious, "What did. you take?" Before she could answer, Draco heard a massive creaking noise, and a shadow blotted out the sky. "Move!" Draco tore down the hill, Bianca right behind him, as the giant's foot smashed a crater in the ground where they had been hiding.

"Hey, Talos!" Grover yelled, but the monster raised his sword, looking down at Bianca and Draco. Grover played a quick melody on his pipes. Over at the highway, the downed power lines began to dance. Draco understood what Grover was going to do a split second before it happened. One of the poles with power lines still attached flew toward Talos's back leg and wrapped around his calf, the lines sparked and sent a jolt of electricity up the giant's backside. Talos whirled around, creaking and sparking. Grover had bought them a few seconds. "Come on!" Draco told Bianca, but she stayed frozen. From her pocket, she brought out a small metal figurine, a statue of a god, "It… it was for Nico. It was the only statue he didn't have." Draco was speechless that even in a time like this she still thought of her brother, it was then and there that Draco knew that even if she was a hunter she still cared for her brother. "Throw it down," Draco said softly. "Maybe the giant will leave us alone." She dropped it reluctantly, but nothing happened. The giant kept coming after Grover. It stabbed its sword into a junk hill, missing Grover by a few feet, but scrap metal made an avalanche over him, and then I couldn't see him anymore. "No!" Thalia yelled. She pointed her spear, and a blue arc of lightning shot out, hitting the monster in his rusty knee, which buckled. The giant collapsed, but immediately started to rise again. It was hard to tell if it could feel anything. That must've just pissed off the guardian even more as he made his way to Thalia.

He raised his foot to stomp and Draco saw that his sole was treaded like the bottom of a sneaker. There was a hole in his heel, like a large manhole, and there were red words painted around it, which Draco could only make what they said after the foot came down: FOR MAINTENANCE ONLY. "Crazy-idea time," Draco said. Bianca looked at him nervously, "Anything." Draco told her about the maintenance hatch. "There may be a way to control the thing. Switches or something. I'm going to get inside," Draco said as he placed his sword back in place. Bianca looked at with worry, "How? You'll have to stand under its foot! You'll be crushed!" Draco stayed silent for a bit. "Distract it," Draco said. "I'll just have to time it right." Bianca's jaw tightened. "No. I'll go," She said with a look of pure determination, and if she was like Nico she won't stand down. But still she was Nico's sister and he made a promise to protect her, "You can't. You're new at this! You'll die!" Draco whispered. "It's my fault the monster came after us," she said. "It's my responsibility. Here." She picked up the little god statue and pressed it into Draco's hand. "If anything happens, give that to Nico. Tell him… tell him I'm sorry," she told him with a tearful smile, Draco couldn't help but compare her to his mother, they looked so alike... Draco snapped out of it and yelled, "Bianca, no!" But she charged at the monster's left foot. Thalia had its attention for the moment. She'd learned that the giant was big but slow. If you could stay close to it and not get smashed, you could run around it and stay alive. At least, it was working so far. Bianca got right next to the giant's foot, trying to balance herself on the metal scraps that swayed and shifted with his weight. Zoë yelled, "What are you doing?"

"Get it to raise its foot!" she said. Zoë shot an arrow toward the monster's face and it flew straight into one nostril. The giant straightened and shook its head. Draco saw Percy run up close to the guard, "Percy help me distract him!" Draco yelled and saw Percy nod at him. "Hey, Junk Boy!" Percy yelled, "Down here!" Percy ran up to its big toe and stabbed it with Riptide. The magic blade cut a gash in the bronze. Draco ran after Percy and grabbed him by the waist as Talos looked down at them and raised his foot to squash them like a bug. Draco didn't see what Bianca was doing, but he had to turn and run. The foot came down about two inches behind them and they were knocked into the air.

Draco fell into something hard and sat up, dazed. He alongside Percy had been thrown into an Olympus-Air refrigerator. The monster was about to finish them off, but Grover somehow dug himself out of the junk pile. He played his pipes frantically, and his music sent another power line pole whacking against Talos's thigh. The monster turned. Grover should've run, but he must've been too exhausted from the effort of so much magic. He took two steps, fell, and didn't get back up.

"Grover!" Thalia and Draco both ran toward him, but Draco knew they've been too late.

The monster raised his sword to smash Grover.

Then he froze.

Talos cocked his head to one side, like he was hearing strange new music. He started moving his arms and legs in weird ways, doing the Funky Chicken. Then he made a fist and punched himself in the face. "Go, Bianca!" Draco yelled. Zoë looked horrified. "She is inside?" The monster staggered around, and Draco realized they were still in danger. Thalia and Percy grabbed Grover and ran with him toward the highway. Zoe was already ahead of us. She yelled, "How will Bianca get out?"

The giant hit itself in the head again and dropped his sword. A shudder ran through his whole body and he staggered toward the power lines. "Look out!" Draco heard Percy yell, but it was too late. The giant's ankle snared the lines, and blue flickers of electricity shot up his body. Draco hoped the inside was insulated, and Bianca was safe. The giant careened back into the junkyard, and his right hand fell off, landing in the scrap metal with a horrible CLANG! His left arm came loose, too. He was falling apart at the joints. Talos began to run. "Wait!" Zoë yelled. They ran after him, but there was no way they could keep up. Pieces of the robot kept falling off, getting in their way. The giant crumbled from the top down: his head, his chest, and finally, his legs collapsed. When they reached the wreckage we searched frantically, yelling Bianca's name. They crawled around in the vast hollow pieces and the legs and the head. They searched until the sun started to rise, but no luck.

Zoë sat down and wept. Draco stood and look at junkyard, Bianca... Bianca was gone, he failed Nico, and he allowed her to go into Talon, he killed her.

Thalia yelled in rage and impaled her sword in the giant's smashed face. "We can keep searching, it's light now. We'll find her," Percy said. "We won't," Draco said quietly. "It was supposed to happen," he whispered. "What are you talking about?" Percy demanded.

"The prophecy. One shall be lost in the land without rain," Draco said with watery eyes that couldn't be seen, Bianca was gone, and it was all his fault. 'It should've been me..' Draco thought.

oOo

They found a tow truck that still had gas and rode it, "The skeletons are still out there." Draco didn't care much of the skeletons anymore he felt numb of the whole thing. The sunny weather and clear sky just made his mood worst Draco's grip tightened around the little figurine that had cost Bianca her life. Draco started at the figurine and almost cried when he saw the familiar face of the card that Nico gave him. Oh, gods… what was he going to tell Nico? Draco wasn't sure if he'll ever be able to look at Nico in the eye if he survived this quest. Draco had to ignore that thought for now Bianca's sacrifice won't be in vain besides his friends needed him at the moment, he can deal with his emotions later.

The group stopped as a tire gave up on them. "Great, what now?" Thalia asked.

Draco scanned the horizon. There wasn't much to see. Desert in all directions, occasional clumps of barren mountains plopped here and there. The canyon was the only thing interesting. The river itself wasn't very big, maybe fifty yards across, green water with a few rapids, but it carved a huge scar out of the desert. The rock cliffs dropped away below them. "There's a path," Grover said, "We could get to the river." Draco tried to see what he was talking about, and finally noticed a tiny ledge winding down the cliff face. "That's a goat path," Percy said. "So?" Grover asked. "The rest of us aren't goats," Percy deadpanned. "We can make it," Grover said. "I think." Draco shook his head, "Yeah, I'm going walking one wrong step there and it's bye-bye to us, let's go farther upstream instead," Draco said as he turned around.

"But—"

"Come on," Percy said cutting of Grover. "A walk won't hurt us." They followed the river about half a mile before coming to an easier slope that led down to the water. On the shore was a canoe rental operation that was closed for the season, but Percy left a stack of golden drachmas on the counter and a note saying IOU two canoes. "We need to go upstream," Zoë said. It was the first time she had talked since the junkyard, and Draco was worried about how bad she sounded, like somebody with the flu. "The rapids are too swift."

"Leave that to me," Percy said. We put the canoes in the water. Thalia pulled Percy to the side, and Draco pretended he didn't hear what they were saying, at least they're getting along now. They came back and everyone rode the canoe.

oOo

They walked around the little plaza of the Hoover Dam. They saw mortals rub the toes of one of the statues before Zoë said "Let us find the dam snack bar," Zoë said. "We should eat while we can." Grover cracked a smile. "The dam snack bar?" Zoë blinked. "Yes, what is funny?" She asked. "Nothing," Grover said, trying to keep a straight face. "I could use some dam french fries." Even Thalia smiled at that. "And I need to use the dam restroom."

Maybe it was the fact that they were so tired and strung out emotionally, but Draco started cracking up, and Percy, Thalia, and Grover joined in, while Zoe just looked at us. "I do not understand," She deadpanned. "I want to use the dam water fountain," Grover said. "And…" Thalia tried to catch her breath. "I want to buy a dam T-shirt." Draco busted up, but both Percy and Grover stopped laughing. Instead Grover was looking around, confused. "Did I just hear a cow?" He asked. "A dam cow?" Thalia laughed and Draco chuckled at that. "No," Grover said. "I'm serious." Zoë listened. "I hear nothing." Thalia was looking at Percy with concern, "Percy, are you okay?" Percy nodded and said he just wanted to talk a small walk and check something out. They nodded and walked up to the dam snack bar, hopefully everything gets better...

**Aaaaaaannnnddd done! I apologize that this took a while I had school projects that I have (and still have) to finish, don't worry I'm almost done with them. Anyways thank you for understanding, and see you in the next chapter bye~**

**D.**


	19. Until We Meet Again

_"A dam cow?" Thalia laughed and Draco chuckled at that. "No," Grover said. "I'm serious." Zoë listened. "I hear nothing." Thalia was looking at Percy with concern, "Percy, are you okay?" Percy nodded and said he just wanted to talk a small walk and check something out. They nodded and walked up to the dam snack bar, hopefully everything gets better..._

**3rd Person P.O.V.**

Everything did not get better, in fact it got worst. They had to flee from the mall as the tyrannosaurus surrounded them, they were able to get away but they've encountered a manticore on their way, a very annoying manticore. Thalia and Zoë distracted it for a while and Percy was in charge of contacting Chiron. "You could ask for help," Draco heard Mr. D murmure, "You could say please." To say Draco was annoyed was an understatement they were about to die and the god of wine couldn't leave his high bourse for a second and help them? Zoë readied her arrows, Grover lifted his pipes, Thalia raised her shield, and Draco raised his sword if he was going to die now he'll do it with honor. "Please, Mr. D," Percy muttered behind them. "Help." Nothing happened at first but then the sunlight tinged with purple and Draco could smell grapes and something more sour—wine.

_SNAP!_

It was the sound of many minds breaking at the same time. The sound of madness. One guard put his pistol between his teeth like it was a bone and ran around on all fours. Two others dropped their guns and started waltzing with each other. The fourth began doing what looked like an Irish clogging dance. It would have been funny if it hadn't been so terrifying. "No!" screamed the manticore. "I will deal with you myself!" His tail bristled, but the planks under his paws erupted into grape vines, which immediately began wrapping around the monster's body, sprouting new leaves and clusters of green baby grapes that ripened in seconds as the manticore shrieked, until he was engulfed in a huge mass of vines, leaves, and full clusters of purple grapes. Finally the grapes stopped shivering, and Draco had a feeling that somewhere inside there, the manticore was no more. "Well," said Dionysus, closing his refrigerator. "That was fun." Percy stared at him, horrified. "How could you... How did you—"

"Such gratitude," he muttered. "The mortals will come out of it. Too much explaining to do if I made their condition permanent. I hate writing reports to Father." He stared resentfully at Thalia. "I hope you learned your lesson, girl. It isn't easy to resist power, is it?" Thalia blushed as if she were ashamed. "Mr. D," Grover said in amazement. "You... you saved us," Grover muttered. "Mmm. Don't make me regret it, satyr. Now get going, Percy Jackson. I've bought you a few hours at most." "The Ophiotaurus," Percy said. "Can you get it to camp?" Mr. D sniffed. "I do not transport livestock. That's your problem," Mr. D said waving his Diet Coke around. "But where do we go?" Dionysus looked at Zoë. "Oh, I think the huntress knows. You must enter at sunset today, you know, or all is lost. Now good-bye. My pizza is waiting." He waved his hand, and his image disappeared in the mist. The words of Mr. D lingered in the air Draco looked at Zoë, "What did he mean... 'You know where to go'?" He asked uncertainly once he saw Zoe's face pale, she pointed across the bay, past the Golden Gate. In the distance, a single mountain rose up above the cloud layer. "The garden of my sisters," she said. "I must go home."

oOo

After visiting Annabeth's dad for a car to take them to the mountain it stayed quiet for most of the time before Percy asked, "Why does everything smell like cough drops?" "Eucalyptus." Zoë pointed to the huge trees all around us. "The stuff koala bears eat?" Percy asked. "And monsters," she said. "They love chewing the leaves. Especially dragons."

"Dragons chew eucalyptus leaves?" Percy asked once again. "Believe me," Zoë said, "if you had dragon breath, you would chew eucalyptus too." They stayed quiet after that Percy sometimes asking Zoë more questions about things. "We have to concentrate, the Mist is really strong here" Thalia said. "The magical kind or the natural kind?" Percy asked. "Both," Draco said, it was the first time he had spoken at all this entire car ride. The gray clouds swirled even thicker over the mountain, and they kept driving straight toward them. They were out of the forest now, into wide open spaces of cliffs and grass and rocks and fog. Draco was looking over Percy's window when he saw something in the ocean, "Look!" But they turned a corner and the ocean disappeared behind the hills. "What?" Thalia asked. "A big white ship, it was docked near the beach. It looked like a cruise ship," Draco said. Her eyes widened. "Luke's ship?" Draco stayed quiet he didn't know if that was Luke's ship but with how things were going now it might be his. "We will have company, then. Kronos army is with us," Zoë said grimly. The hairs on Draco's neck stood up when Thalia shouted, "Stop the car. NOW!" Zoë must've sensed something was wrong, because she slammed on the brakes without question. The yellow VW spun twice before coming to a stop at the edge of the cliff. "Out!" Thalia opened the door and pushed me hard. We both rolled onto the pavement. The next second: BOOOM! Lightning flashed, and Dr. Chase's Volkswagen erupted like a canary-yellow grenade. Draco probably would've been killed by shrapnel if it weren't for Thalia's shield, which appeared over him. Draco heard a sound like metal ram, and when he opened his eyes, they were surrounded by wreckage. Part of the VW's fender had impaled itself in the street. The smoking hood was spinning in circles. Pieces of yellow metal were strewn across the road.

Draco swallowed the taste of smoke out of his mouth, and looked at Thalia. "What happened?" He asked. "One shall perish by a parent's hand" she muttered. "Curse him. He would destroy me? Me?" Draco stayed quiet, "I don't think that was your father, he wouldn't have transformed you into a pine tree if he wanted to kill you." Thalia shook her head and looked around, "Where's Zoë? Zoë!" They both got up and ran around the blasted VW. Nothing inside. Nothing either direction down the road. Draco looked down the cliff. No sign of her. "Zoë!" Draco shouted. Then she was standing right next to him, pulling Draco by his arm. "Silence, fool! Do you want to wake Ladon?" She hissed in a hushed whisper. "You mean we're here?" Draco whispered back. "Very close," she said. "Follow me." Sheets of fog were drifting right across the road. Zoë stepped into one of them, and when the fog passed, she was no longer there. Thalia and Draco looked at each other, the at Percy who was behind them, unharmed thankfully. "Concentrate on Zoe," Thalia advised. They stepped into the fog, into the mist, and after a bit the fog cleared. They were still on the side of the mountain, but the road was dirt. The grass was thicker. The sunset made a bloodred slash across the sea. The summit of the mountain seemed closer now, swirling with storm clouds and raw power. There was only one path to the top, directly in front of them. And it led through a lush meadow of shadows and flowers: the garden of twilight, the view was beautiful but it was disturbing that such a beautiful place was flocked with monsters. The grass shimmered with silvery evening light, and the flowers were such brilliant colors they almost glowed in the dark. Stepping stones of polished black marble led around either side of a five-story-tall apple tree, every bough glittering with golden apples. "The apples of immortality," Thalia said. "Hera's wedding gift from Zeus." The dragon guarding the tree looked like one of the rare kind of dragons Draco had seen one time when Lucius and Narcissa had to take him over to Romania for a business trip that required them to take their child with them. The shadows in front of them began to move. There was a beautiful, eerie singing, like voices from the bottom of a well. Four figures shimmered into existence, four young women who looked very much like Zoë. They all wore white Greek chitons. Their skin was like caramel. Silky black hair tumbled loose around their shoulders. Zoë and her siblings, the Hesperides, could be twins for how much they looked alike. "Sisters," Zoë said. "We do not see any sister," one of the girls said coldly. "We see three half-bloods and a Hunter. All of whom shall soon die," The one on the right said giving them a glare. "You've got it wrong, nobody is going to die," Percy said stepping up.

"Perseus Jackson," one of them said. "Yes," mused another. "I do not see why he is a threat," the one on the right said. "Who said I was a threat?" Percy asked. The first Hesperid glanced behind her, toward the top of the mountain. "They fear thee. They are unhappy that this one has not yet killed thee," She pointed at Thalia. "Tempting sometimes, but no, thanks. He's my friend," Thalia said. "There are no friends here, daughter of Zeus," the girl said. "Only enemies. Go back." "Not without Annabeth," Thalia said. "And Artemis," Zoë said. "We must approach the mountain." "You know he will kill thee," the girl said. "You are no match for him." "Artemis must be freed," Zoë insisted. "Let us pass." The girl shook her head. "You have no rights here anymore. We have only to raise our voices and Ladon will wake." "He will not hurt me," Zoë said. "No? And what about thy so-called friends?" Zoë looked at Ladon and she shouted, "Ladon! Wake!" The dragon stirred, glittering like a mountain of pennies. The Hesperides yelped and scattered. The lead girl said to Zoë, "Are you mad?" "You never had any courage, sister. That is thy problem," Zoë said. The dragon Ladon was writhing now, a hundred heads whipping around, tongues flickering and tasting the air. Zoë took a step forward, her arms raised. "Zoë, don't," Thalia said. "You're not a Hesperid anymore. He'll kill you." "Ladon is trained to protect the tree," Zoe said. "Skirt around the edges of the garden. Go up the mountain. As long as I am a bigger threat, he should ignore thee." That was not reassuring to Draco, but he trusted Zoë and he went right Percy following behind him while Thalia went to the left. "It's me, my little dragon," Zoë said. "Zoë has come back." Ladon shifted forward, then back. Some of the mouths closed. Some kept hissing. Dragon confusion. Meanwhile, the Hesperides shimmered and turned into shadows. The voice of the eldest whispered, "Fool." "I used to feed thee by hand," Zoë continued, speaking in a soothing voice as she stepped toward the golden tree. "Do you still like lamb's meat?" The dragon's eyes glinted. They were about halfway around the garden. Ahead, Draco could see a single rocky trail leading up to the black peak of the mountain. The storm swirled above it, spinning on the summit like it was the axis for the whole world. They ran upwards making sure not to slip and fall, when Zoë got injured by Ladon they helped her and all of them climbed upwards.

oOo

On top they had encountered Atlas, who was revealed to be Zoë's father. "Let Artemis go," Zoë demanded. Atlas walked closer to the chained goddess. "Perhaps you'd like to take the sky for her, then? Be my guest." Zoë opened her mouth to speak, but Artemis said, "No! Do not offer, Zoë! I forbid you." Atlas smirked. He knelt next to Artemis and tried to touch her face, but the goddess bit at him, almost taking off his fingers. "Hoo-hoo," Atlas chuckled. "You see, daughter? Lady Artemis likes her new job. I think I will have all the Olympians take turns carrying my burden, once Lord Kronos rules again, and this is the center of our palace. It will teach those weaklings some humility." Draco glanced at Annabeth something about her had changed, he looked towards an saw it; a single match of grey hair that stood out with her blonde hair.

"From holding the sky," Thalia muttered, "The weight should've killed her." Percy looked at Thalia with confusion, "I don't understand, why can't Artemis just let go of the sky?" Atlas laughed. "How little you understand, young one. This is the point where the sky and the earth first met, where Ouranos and Gaia first brought forth their mighty children, the Titans. The sky still yearns to embrace the earth. Someone must hold it at bay, or else it would crush down upon this place, instantly flattening the mountain and everything within a hundred leagues. Once you have taken the burden, there is no escape." Atlas smiled. "Unless someone else takes it from you." He approached them, studying the trio. "So these are the best heroes of the age, eh? Not much of a challenge."

Draco looked at his friends they nodded and he did as well. "Now!" Thalia yelled and with that they all ran towards Atlas, Percy went to the side of the titan while everyone else went forwards of to the left, Draco however had another idea. He ran towards the goddess of the moon, "The sky give it to me, you know that without your help we might not win against him." He kneeled before her, "No, boy," Artemis said. Her forehead was beaded with metallic sweat, like quicksilver. "You don't know what you're asking. It will crush you!" She yelled face full of concentration. "It won't matter if all of us die! Please let me take the weight of the sky," he pleaded and started slashing at the chains around her before she could answer. He stepped next to her and braved himself, for a moment they both held the sky together but then Artemis slipped away and Draco was left with the burden alone.

Pain hit Draco immediately the weight of the whole sky was relying on his shoulders, he hunched a bit, but he didn't stop holding the sky. He already got Bianca killed the least he could do is be there for Nico, if Nico even wanted to talk to him for being a lier. Draco pushed upwards even harder he could do this he had to do this. Draco caught glimpses of the battle, Thalia fighting Luke, Artemis fighting alongside Percy and Zoë, and Draco had no idea where Grover was but he hoped he was safe. Sweat drifted down Draco's face, hands and shoulders screaming in agony, but he forced himself to get his mind off of that and look at the battle before him. Atlas advanced, pressing Artemis. She was fast, but his strength was unstoppable. His javelin slammed into the earth where Artemis had been a split second before, and a fissure opened in the rocks. He leaped over it and kept pursuing her. She was leading him back toward Draco. 'Get ready,' the goddess said to Draco. "You fight well for a girl," Atlas said laughing, "But you are no match for me." He feinted with the tip of his javelin and Artemis dodged. I saw the trick coming. Atlas's javelin swept around and knocked Artemis's legs off the ground. She fell, and Atlas brought up his javelin tip for the kill. "No!" Zoë screamed. She leaped between her father and Artemis and shot an arrow straight into the Titan's forehead, where it lodged like a unicorn's horn. Atlas bellowed in rage. He swept aside his daughter with the back of his hand, sending her flying into the black rocks. Atlas turned on Artemis with a look of triumph in his face. Artemis seemed to be wounded. She didn't get up. "The first blood in a new war," Atlas gloated. And he stabbed downward. As fast as thought, Artemis grabbed his javelin shaft. It hit the earth right next to her and she pulled backward, using the javelin like a lever, kicking the Titan Lord and sending him flying over her, Draco saw him coming down on top of him and he realized what would happen. Draco loosened his grip on the sky, and as Atlas slammed into him he didn't try to hold on. He let himself be pushed out of the way and rolled for all he was worth. The weight of the sky dropped onto Atlas's back, almost smashing him flat until he managed to get to his knees, struggling to get out from under the crushing weight of the sky. But it was too late. "Noooooo!" He bellowed so hard it shook the mountain. "Not again!" Atlas was trapped under his old burden.

Draco stood up in a daze he blanked out for most of the time before the urgency in Thalia's voice shook him out of his mind. He glanced at her as she was kneeling on the ground with Artemis at her side. "Can't you heal her with magic? I mean... you're a goddess." Percy asked Artemis. Artemis looked troubled. "Life is a fragile thing, Percy. If the Fates will the string to be cut, there is little I can do. But I can try." She tried to set her hand on Zoë's side, but Zoë gripped her wrist. She looked into the goddess's eyes, and some kind of understanding passed between them. "Have I... served thee well?" Zoë whispered. "With great honor," Artemis said softly. "The finest of my attendants." Zoë's face relaxed, "Rest. At last." Artemis looked conflicted, "I can try to heal the poison, my brave one."

Zoë looked over at Thalia, "I am sorry we argued," Zoë said. "We could have been sisters." "It's my fault," Thalia said, blinking hard. "You were right about Luke, about heroes, men—everything." "Perhaps not all men," Zoë murmured looking at Percy. "Not all men are like Hercules," she said looking at the night sky. "Stars," she whispered. "I can see the stars again, my lady." A tear trickled down Artemis's cheek. "Yes, my brave one. They are beautiful tonight." "Stars," Zoë repeated. Her eyes fixed on the night sky. And she did not move again. Thalia lowered her head. Annabeth gulped down a sob, and her father put his hands on her shoulders. Draco watched as Artemis cupped her hand above Zoe's mouth and spoke a few words in Ancient Greek. A silvery wisp of smoke exhaled from Zoe's lips and was caught in the hand of the goddess. Zoe's body shimmered and disappeared.

Artemis stood, said a kind of blessing, breathed into her cupped hand and released the silver dust to the sky. It flew up, sparkling, and vanished. Draco glanced at the sky and spotted the new pattern, a new constellation with gleaming stars. A constellation that had the figure of a girl holding a bow. "Let the world honor you, my Huntress," Artemis said. "Live forever in the stars."

oOo

After that Thalia decided to join the hunters of Artemis to make sure the prophecy of the child of the big three didn't occur as soon as she turned fifteen*. And now it was the hardest moment of Draco's life, tell Nico that his sister is gone. He sighed and went over to Nico, "Hey Nico can I talk to you for a minute?" Nico looked at him with big wide eyes full of innocence and nodded. Draco took Nico to the forest outside of the strawberry field, he sat down on a rock and asked Nico to do the same. "As you know I'm back from the quest.." Draco trailed off. "Yes..," Nico said hesitantly.

Draco took a deep breath, "Before the quest you know how we had a prophecy and how it mentioned that two of the people in the quest would die..." Nico looked at him with pure horror, "No..." he whispered. Draco pulled out the tiny statue out of his pocket and placed it on Nico's hand, "Bianca... Bianca wanted me to give you this as a last gift from her..." Nico looked at the statue and then back at Draco, "You promised you would protect her!" Draco looked at Nico he held onto his shoulders even when Nico tried to shake them off, "Nico please listen to me!" He yelled voice horse with emotions he couldn't identify at the moment. "I'm sorry I broke our promise, I'm sorry I failed to protect Bianca it's something that I'll always regret till my grave but please! Don't take this out on others! Take— take it out on me, I failed her and I failed you. I deserve whatever you think about me," Draco said looking at Nico with eyes full of tears, Nico opened his mouth before Draco heard a hissing, clattering noise he recognized all too well. Draco drew his sword and stood defensively between Nico and the skeletons, "Nico get somewhere safe I'll get these skeletons away!" Draco glanced back at Nico and saw that he didn't move, he noticed the expression on Nico's face, full of shock and panic. Draco slashed at the first skeleton that charged, "Nico! Get out of here it's not safe!" Draco yelled and continued to slash away at the skeletons. He miss counted the amount of skeletons until one slashed at his stomach, immediately Draco started to bleed. He placed his unoccupied hand on the wound but it wasn't enough, he was losing blood quickly.

Draco slashed at the swords and hands that tried to get to him, the skeletons slowly made him take a few steps back when tripped and fell. When he glanced up he saw a skeleton with their sword right over them and before it could slash down, Draco heard a loud yell. "No, go away get away from him!" The ground rumbled beneath Draco and started crack beneath him, he rolled away just in time once the ground ripped apart and the earth swallowed the whole army of skeletons. Draco carefully got up, and he glanced at Nico who had his hand stretched at his direction. "Are you okay?" He asked Nico slowly heading towards him and looking for any injuries. "Why..why did you protect me even after I accused you of killing my..." Nico whispered looking at Draco with tearful eyes. "Because I wanted to, and I just felt the urge to do it. I may had failed you once, but I'm not failing you twice," Draco whispered and hugged Nico hesitantly. "I know that you probably won't forgive me for... that but can we... still be friends..?" Nico hesitated before nodding a little. They stayed in each others arm for a long time before a strong silver glow lighted up the area, Draco looked upwards and gasped. On top of Nico's head there was what looked like the female gender sign with out the top of its circle with a smaller circle in the middle. "A child of Hades," he whispered. "Like the one you have on you?" Nico asked pointing up to Draco's own head. Draco looked up and there he saw it, the same sign that Nico had. That meant-

"We're siblings...?"

**Aaaaannnnddd done! I deeply apologize if the update was alter than usual. I actually thought that it did upload but it didn't and now that I was planning to write the beginning of my next chapter I realized this chapter didn't upload. Again my apologies for that, and I hoped you liked the whole Draco being a child of Hades thing. (I kinda spoiled it with the Tom Riddle chapter didn't I?) Anyways I hoped you liked this chapter and see you in the next one!**

**(P.s. the * means that the age of the big prophecy might be changed to fifteen to fit the timeline I'm working on. I still don't know the exact year and age the characters will be so just bare with me.)**

**-D.**


	20. Back To Hogwarts

_They stayed in each others arm for a long time before a strong silver glow lighted up the area, Draco looked upwards and gasped. On top of Nico's head there was what looked like the female gender sign with out the top of its circle with a smaller circle in the middle. "A child of Hades," he whispered. "Like the one you have on you?" Nico asked pointing up to Draco's own head. Draco looked up and there he saw it, the same sign that Nico had. That meant-_

_"We're siblings...?"_

**3rd Person P.O.V.**

Draco sat in the train's seat he looked over at the window seeing the way parents kissed and hugged their children goodbye. He stared right ahead of him in spacing out. What happened during the winter was something that still bother him in many ways he wished it didn't. It opened old wounds he thought he got over, but guess he was wrong, he was wrong in many things.

Draco wondered how Nico was doing, did he feel okay with being out of his time? Would he still be able to adapt on his own? Will Hades even bother with being with him or will he leave Nico alone? Draco knew that he shouldn't think like this but recently its been hard to do things how he used to do them. Luckily, he gave Nico plenty of drachmas for him to contact him throughout the year. Nico still doesn't know the he's something more than just a demigod, he plans leaving it like that. Draco doesn't want Nico to be brought on all future bullshit the fates have planned on the wizarding world. Nico had his own stuff to worry about.

He sighed and closed his eyes, feeling tired all of the sudden. He glanced around the train's room no one that knew him was here, so he relaxed himself and made a makeshift pillow and relaxed. Soon falling asleep.

~~

_Draco stared at the glowing symbol on top of him. He had been claimed? Nico had been as well... what was going to happen now? Did the prophecy applied to out of time demigods? Why did it took this long for him to get claimed. Before Draco could burry himself in more questions the shadows surrounded them and he felt himself dissolve in the familiar darkness._

_Draco fell onto the ground alongside Nico who fell on top of him. "Are you okay?" He asked as they got themselves back up. "Yeah, I'm... good... where are we?" Nico asked looking at what appeared to be a castle. Now that Draco thought about it this castle looked familiar, "This is almost like Olympus..."_

_He glanced around the dark room, "Only edgier I guess.." he trailed off. He walked towards the endless hall Nico following right behind him. Draco spotted something on the end of the hall it looked human enough, "Maybe we could ask that person for directions to the nearest exit." He joked._

_"Yeah, maybe..."_

_They walked towards the thing on the end of the hall getting closer to it made it clear that it was human, but the aura that surrounded it made Draco hesitate. "I see that you finally made it," the figure spoke and turned around to face them. Cold dark eyed focused on them, Draco froze them widen his eyes I recognization, "Lord Hades..."_

_"I'm glad one of my sons at least know who I am without telling them." The man- Hades, said looking satisfied at being recognized for who he was. "What are we doing here?" Draco asked getting to the point._

_Hades narrowed his eyes, "Watched your tone, son. I will not accept being disrespected by a demigod son or not." He said coldly looking at Draco with a guarded expression. Draco looked aside submissively he didn't want to make the man mad while still being at his mercy on his territory. "So.." Nico interrupted the thick tension between both males. "You're our dad..right? Why did you made us come here?" He asked uncertainly._

_Hades looked at Nico, "I wanted to meet you of course."_

_Draco stared at his father, "That's bull, what's the real reason we're here?" Hades scoffed, "Can't you believe your own father when he says he wanted to meet you?" He send Draco a unfamiliar look. Draco raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, "Yeah cause that's what all gods always do right?" Hades scrolled, "At least be great full I even claimed you. I could just left you in the dark for the rest of your life."_

_"Yeah but you need us for something right? Besides I was unclaimed for so long it wouldn't of mattered if you didn't," Draco knew that he shouldn't be speaking to a god much less his own father like this but right now he simply couldn't care. This man had been absent when his mom left, he was gone his whole life and then suddenly showed up and demanded respect people would give to their parents. Pff, no Draco was tired and hurt from all of this nonsense, as if reading his thoughts Hades spoke ima strangely calm voice. "Something was keeping me from claiming you, Draconis. I knew where Nico was, and I'll admit I didn't know you were still alive," Draco would've almost explode from the anger he felt when his father, no Hades, used his full name like Lucius and in his mind people who are like Lucius are the worst._

_The man didn't even know where he was or if he was even alive! Wow, talking about father of the year. Draco took a deep breath he can't lose his cool now, not when Nico was here, not when they could be in danger from Hades. "What do you mean with that?" He asked his voice controlled and calm. "The gloves that you wore prevented me to even feel you," Hades replied snapping his fingered and showing Draco's gloves on his hand. Draco instantly grabbed his hands feeling the lack of gloves on them, he looked at Hades in panic._

_Hades had pulled on one of the gloves fingers, "The only time I felt you was when this malfunctioned." He said showing the hole that was on the top of the gloves. From the hand that he pulled of the arrow from his thigh back on capture the flag. "Hephaestus might've made this for you but all things tear with time," Hades said snapping his fingers and fixing the gloves tossing it back to Draco. "Thanks..." he muttered, so that's why the branch fell. Draco curse himself for not being more careful when dealing with sharp objects but then realized that he couldn't have known as the gloves are supposed to stand the activities he did, it was made from a god for gods sake!_

_Nico suddenly grabbed him and said—_

~~

"raco!"

"...co!"

"..ke up!"

"Wake up!"

Draco jumped slightly and hit himself on the head, "wha..?" He slurred not fully awake. "Ah, finally the dead comes back to us! Man we've been calling you for like twenty minutes now!" Draco rubbed his eyes taking the sleepiness away from them and opened them again, taking in the way his friends were looking at him. "Come on sleeping beauty we're almost at Hogwarts," Lucas said pointing at the jeans and hoodie Draco was still wearing. Draco rolled his eyes and just grabbed his robe that he had used as a blanket. He put it on, "There happy?" He said and sat back down placing his face towards the cold window. "Gee, someone got up at the wrong edge of the bed," Markus said looking at Draco with an eyebrow raised. "Sorry just tired," Draco mumbled closing his eyes once again. "It's fine wanna hear what we did during Christmas?" Blaise who was next to Lucas said. Draco nodded and let the sound of his friends voice distract him from his dream.

oOo

Draco day at the boat his eyes focused on the black skeletal horse pulling the boat towards the castle. "Hey, are you okay?" Theodore asked looking at Draco worriedly. "You've been spacing out more than usual..." he trailed of. Draco nodded and mentally cursed himself for making his friends worry, "Yeah I'm good just Christmas wasn't the best to be honest. Don't worry thought I'll be fine just give me a bit of time alright?" He said smiling at Theodore. Theodore nodded and went back to talking to Blaise content with Draco's answer. When he fully turned his attention off of him Draco continued looking back at the Thestral pulling the boat. It was just a painful reminder of what he did before he became a Malfoy, what happened this winter break, and most it reminded him of the fact that he'll never really fit in. Not with demigods nor wizards, he'll just be a freak of nature, something that was made in mistake...

**Aaaaannnndddd done! Huh, what's this an update? Yeah sorry about how long in took to give you this chapter, I'm not proud of how short it is but it's something I suppose. Anyways, did you liked the little flashback Draco had? You finally got some answers in him and whatever you might've wondered happened with him and Hades. (I apologize if Hades was a bit too out of character he'll become better with Draco I promise.)**

**Now onto the comments.**

**MorpheusYulia: Yeah Draco being a son of Hades was planned before I even started typing the story, it was and idea I had while thinking of which godly parent Draco should be that was different to others fanfics about him being a demigod. (The one's in which he's a son of Athena in that case.)**

**aflores2005: :D (Not gonna lie I thought everybody already knew or at least suspected that Hades was Draco's father XD)**

**Done-With-People123: I'm glad that you liked that moment between Nico and Draco back in chapter 17! (I'm sorry I didn't mentioned/answered you in the other chapter ~)**

**Anyways feel free to tell me any kind of idea you might have on what I can do now that Draco is back on Hogwarts. The timeline made me have to set what happened with Tom Riddle a bit early than the book so it'll be different than what happened on the book. Thanks for reading and I'll see you at the next chapter bye!**

**-D.**


	21. Yo Boy, Keep It Together

_When he fully turned his attention off of him Draco continued looking back at the Thestral pulling the boat. It was just a painful reminder of what he did before he became a Malfoy, what happened this winter break, and most it reminded him of the fact that he'll never really fit in. Not with demigods nor wizards, he'll just be a freak of nature, something that was made in mistake..._

**3rd Person P.O.V**

Draco sighed for what felt the billionth time this day. The day seemed to pass so slow it was making him restless, right now Dumbledore was giving out a speech to the students and just started to serve the food. He poked at his food it looked good, but his lack of appetite just made home want to throw the food in the trash and go back to camp, to Nico.

Draco pushed the plate away from him and glanced to the sides looking for the Slytherin prefect, once he spotted them he calmly walked up them and asked if he could be excused. After answering a few questions Draco was able to leave the great hall and he headed towards the nearest bathroom. Walking into the stall that was all the way to the back and locked himself in it. He knocked at the side of the stall three times.

"Myrtle, you there? I'm back from break."

He looked upwards to see if his ghostly friend would appear before him in one of her dramatic ways of appearing, descending from the sky as if she were Jesus herself. Just then Draco caught glimpse of her robe as she phased through the stalls wall, "Boo!" She yelled playfully.

"Aaaaahhh, a ghost ooh I'm so scared, please god have mercy upon my soul," Draco dramatically placed his hand on his forehead and let himself fall backward against the toilet. "Yes, you foolish mortal. Fear me!" Myrtle said laughing maniacally at the end. She wiped away and imaginary tear, "Oh, I still got it." Draco rolled his eyes playfully and looked at Myrtle. "Anything happened when I was gone? You seem in a VERY good mood."

Myrtle let out a sigh, "Yeah, I've made a new friend while you were gone." Draco raised an eyebrow, "Oh, who is this new friend you speak about is it someone I know?" 'Please don't tell me you've accepted a random student friendship, who knows what they really want to use you for,' Draco pleaded silently as Myrtle let out a short laugh at his question. "They're a ghost at school and yes, I do believe you know them," Draco nodded and smiled at Myrtle, "Well at least I know that you won't be that alone without me visiting you that much, anyways I should get going before the prefect comes and yells at me for skipping dinner." Myrtle sighed at the antics of her friend. "Just promise you'll visit me and take care of yourself. Don't think I won't forget about the time you passed out on the middle of class last semester," she scolded Draco before disappearing from the stall.

Draco chuckled at his ghostly friend concern and frowned when he realized the main thing he wanted to tell Myrtle. He shrugged nothing he could do now.

Draco walked through the dungeon halls heading straight to the Slytherin common room. Once inside he went straight to his dormitory and into the bathroom locking the door and placing a silencing spell just Incase someone came into the dorm. Checking the time he realized that this was supposed to be the time that Nico was going to IM him. He dispelled his glamour and just sat on the toilet seat, waiting. Draco drummed his fingers on his knee until he was faced with the person he wanted to talk to.

"Nico..."

"Hey...," his half sibling said waving his hand a bit awkwardly. "So," he started, "has Hades been able to y'know give you back some of your memories?" Nico sighed, "No... not really, I don't even think that he wants to talk to me at all. He just keeps bringing up..." _Bianca_. It was something left unsaid but enough to make Draco's blood boil. "Well screw him who needs him anyways, you can always celebrate your birthday and everything with mine! I'll even try to find those birth certificates if he doesn't want to help you at all!" Nico stared with a blank stare and just smiled but it quivered as soon as it came.

"Thanks this really helped a lot, but I have to go now. With training and all.." Nico said trailing of at the end, Draco nodded, "Alright see ya." Nico swiped the air and the message disappeared. He let himself relax and sighed, even after spending most of Christmas break together Nico was still hesitant about talking to him most of the time. Draco didn't blame him who would want to talk with someone who got their sibling killed? He knew he wouldn't and with that he headed towards his bed and collapsed, letting his thoughts rush through his head.

oOo

Draco panted as he ran deeper into the forbidden forest. Throughout the months he decided that it's time that he properly practiced to, as Nico once mentioned, shadow travel. So far he hasn't been to bad it but they were a lot of close calls though. He shuddered thinking at the time he teleported into a underground cave, the coldness of the water surrounding him as he couldn't see or hear anything else but the darkness around him and his shallow breaths.

He stopped and look behind him, this seemed like a good spot to stop. Draco took of his groves ignoring the way that the plants around him wilted away, it's about time he got over about his... abilities. He closed his eyes and thought where should he go? Where did he want to go? Maybe somewhere that not many would go to, somewhere... quiet. He felt a tug in his whole body as he disolved and fussed with the shadows around him.

He let out a tiny yelp as he crashed into something hard and cold. He quickly got up onto his feet and looked around.. wherever he was. It was a tiny cell by the looks of it, grey and black walls tiny bed that looked uncomfortable, and bars that replaced glass in a tiny window. Yup, definitely a cell.

He looked outside the the tiny window, the sky was grey and lifeless but what caught his attention was how far he was from the ground. He took notice of the black things that floated around the prison. Wait what?

Draco focused on one of the floating objects and noticed the figure looked like a skeleton, a Dementor. A fucking Dementor, Draco knew where he was how could he not the only place that ever held this many Dementors was, "Azkaban." He muttered, shit. He needed to get out of here quick before anybody knew he was here but first he needed to check if anyone was in the cell or close to it. He glanced at every dark corner of the room, nothing, nothing could be seen. Now what about outside the cell...

He walked slow and steady making sure not to make any noice at all as he made his way to the door and peaked into the other side of the cell. The only light that he could see came from a nearby torch, he could hear some harsh breathing from other cells across the hall. Draco sighed and froze when he heard footsteps, he backed away and rushed towards the corner close to the cell door. As he held his breath he could hear the footsteps come closer and even hear the shackle of chains as they stopped in right outside the cell he was in.

"Well Black, you're break is over, now get in your cell," a grouchy manly voice said as the officer inserted the keys and opened the cell door, its hinges letting a loud shrieking sound, his heart stopped when he heard the chains rattle as they were dragged in. He waited until the door was closed and the officers footsteps couldn't be hear before he looked at the figure that came in. He could only assume the figure as male as he stepped close to the light that came from the tiny window. Long black locks tangled everywhere as they stopped at the mans boney shoulders. He could feel himself sweat as the man just stood there, doing nothing.

Draco's hands trembled with anxiety as the man finally turned away from the window and headed towards his bed getting comfortable on it (as much as one could with a bed that looked like a fucking rock). The man glanced at Draco as if feeling his piercing stare before looking back at the wall. Draco panicked as the man did a double take and looked eyes with him -well as much as one can with someone with a creepy fox mask- "What the fu—"

Draco shushed the mans as quietly as he could, "Be quiet!" He hissed as the man stumbled of his bed. "Look I know this looks creepy not to mention sketchy, but I just appeared here by accident and I— I have no idea where I am. Well I do know where but please for the love of gods don't raise your voice!" He whispered furiously as he placed his trembling hands up, showing that he was unarmed. The man calmed down a bit but didn't get close to him.

They stayed silent as the man sighed. "W-what's your name?" He stuttered out, sometimes he hated his ADHD a lot. The man raised an eyebrow at the question but answered anyway. "Sirius Black, the man who betrayed and killed his own friends. A backstabbing piece of shite," the man let out a small hollow laugh before stopping completely. So this man was one of his relatives? Good to know. Draco stood and took in the rest of what the man— Sirius said. His words held a bitter tone as if something he said was ironic in a way, it made him wonder... "Is that what others think or the truth?" He asked stopping the trembling in his hands, and getting Sirius attention. Sirius narrowed his eyes at him, "Why do you care?"

"Enlighten me," Draco said slowly letting his hands down as well as placing them on his pants pockets. Sirius eyes narrowed even more, "What would you get from this?" Draco locked eyes with Sirius, "The truth, perhaps a lie, or just your perspective on your... imprisonment."

Sirius opened his mouth and said two words that surprised Draco, "I'm innocent."

Innocent..? If he was innocent why would he be here then, but on the other hand, he sounded so sincere, "How so?" He found himself asking. Sirius took a deep breath before starting, "I was framed by someone who I thought was my friend. He killed his own friends and made it seem it was me by faking his own death, that bastard was trusted to keep an important secret but ratted it out to the wrong person when his life was threatened, that coward-" Sirius stopped and took a breath before staying quiet. "If you're innocent as you say, why would you be here wouldn't you have like a trail or something?" Draco asked after a moment of silence. "They didn't even bother giving me a trial, just saw who I was and who I was related before just throwing me here to rot." Draco frowned, Sirius didn't have a trial? Everyone is supposed to have a trial and be proven that they're guilty before placing them behind bars, not just throwing the person directly into jail.

"If.." Draco hesitated, "If you had the chance to get out of here and prove that you're innocent would you take it?" He asked Sirius. The man looked at him with disbelief but he had a glint of hope in his grey eyes. "Yes..."

Draco nodded before licking his dry lips, "Well then could you do something first?" Sirius tensed at his question before nodding hesitantly, "Alright just repeat after me, 'I Sirius Black sweat to the River Styx that everything I told is true and nothing but the truth.'" Sirius repeated what Draco said and thunder tumbled showing that the oath was heard, nothing happened to Sirius. No sudden death or smell of a broken oath. He told the truth.

Draco moved close to Sirius, looking up towards Sirius before saying, "Then trust me in what I'm gonna do next."

He walked towards the door running his hands towards his hair and pulling out two hair pins. He twisted them both onto he was satisfied with the shape and threw them out the cell by the doors window. He concentrated on the pins, slowly making them rise and move towards the doors lock. He twisted and turned the pins until a loud click, Draco glanced at Sirius behind him and carefully opening the door making a small gap enough for both of them to pass through. He knew how loud the door could be and both couldn't risk it, he tilted his head, "Come on now."

Sirius grabbed his chains and snuck out the doors gap, Draco doing the same. When both were out side he shut the door with a quiet click. "Won't they notice I'm gone?" Sirius whispered quietly. He shook his head no and snap his fingers, he made the mist make Sirius look as if he was there in the cell and just to make sure made everyone that came close think that Sirius was done with whatever activities he was supposed to do, in case they came to his cell for what ever reason. He moved away and Sirius glanced in then turned to him with a look of surprise. Draco placed his finger on his mask's lips in a shushing way. Both walked away until they saw the familiar light of the outside. They came close to the light and saw that it was a full open body whole, no bars were seen.

Draco looked forward The the window looking at the ground and around for any Dementors. "What the hell are you doing?!" Sirius whispered. "You said you trusted me right?" Draco turned to face him as Sirius nodded hesitantly, "Then trust me when I say that we're going to jump at the count of three, okay?"

"W-wait—"

"One!"

Draco grabbed Sirius covered wrist,

"Two!"

Sirius yelped as he was pulled of the prison,

"THREE!"

Draco jumped and quickly grabbed a screening Sirius. He turned himself in the air so that Sirius was on top of him, "I'M GONNA DIIIIIIIEEEE!!!" Sirius screeched as Draco concentrated on a safe place.

Let's for home, he though before disappearing into the shadows before they crashed into the raging ocean below.

**Aaaaaaaaaannnnnnd done!**

**This took longer to make as of now the story from both book series will be changing as to fit the plot I planned. Of course I took so long because of just that, the plot.**

**I was just thinking of the things that I could do and how would it affect things in the story, this chapter was one of the outcomes as it was never mentioned how Sirius escaped Azkaban, so I got creative.**

**As of now I will get outside the books original plots and place the views of how I think happened via Draco's point of view, just want you guys to know that I'll place how I think things went down out side the protagonist from both book series went as both are limited to what the characters I'm writing are doing. Also, just a heads up that my mid-terms are happening as of now and it'll keep me a little busy for a bit until Christmas break (it's been stressful with the amount of work thanksgiving break and these past weeks gave out ~). Hope you understand and see you in the next chapter bye~**

**-D.**


	22. A Deal

_"W-wait—"_

_"One!" _

_Draco grabbed Sirius covered wrist, _

_"Two!" _

_Sirius yelped as he was pulled of the prison,_

_"THREE!" _

_Draco jumped and quickly grabbed a screening Sirius. He turned himself in the air so that Sirius was on top of him, "I'M GONNA DIIIIIIIEEEE!!!" Sirius screeched as Draco concentrated on a safe place._

_Let's go for home, he though before disappearing into the shadows before they crashed into the raging ocean below._

**3rd Person P.O.V.**

Draco grunted as his body fell into the hard ground, rolling away as he place some space between Sirius and him. He groaned as he opened his eyes and look into the sky above him, it was getting late but knowing what he had to do he knew he'll have to find a way to sneak into Hogwarts without being caught by any teacher or Filch, that'll be bye bye to the wonders of nature forever, he couldn't afford that right now.

He shook his head and sat up slowly the draining sensation of his energy making him light headed, guess that's what happens when he shadow travels with more people than himself. He sighs and looks at his surroundings dread feeling him instantly as he recognizes the place they landed on. Draco gets up slowly on his feet and searches for his gloves, placing them on their corresponding hand and adjusting them to be unnoticeable to the naked eye. A soft crunch of the dead leaves around him make him turn around and look at the ill-looking Sirius.

"Come, we can't have you die on me just as I got you out of prison," Draco said as he made his way to one around the dead garden surrounding them, slowly getting onto a familiar stone path that was cracked on multiple spots. He heard Sirius sigh behind him but follow him as he made his way to a large mansion that looked well maintained compared to everything else.

He jogged a bit going to the huge door that was certainly looked. Sirius groaned behind him as he slumped his body forward, chains rattling as he stumbled, Sirius stood beside him with his arms crossed as he looked at the locked door.

"How are you going to get in, fox-boy?"

Draco's eye twitched at the nickname the escaped prisoner called him but let is slide as he took out his wand. "Magic, duh." He said turning his head at Sirius seeing the man rolling his eyes. "Open sesame!" He yelled dramatically as he pointed at the large doors. "There's no way that'll work, it's not—" a soft click shut Sirius off. Draco pushed the door going in the house and turning to Sirius with a small bow, "Come on in." He smirked as the older man passed him with a small tisk, "Where are we anyway, this house looks abandoned..," Sirius said as he looked over the old patching and paintings in the hall alongside some old furniture that looked as it was almost at its breaking point.

"I'm surprised you didn't recognize this house, but I suppose a lot was changed when you were imprisoned." Sirius looked at Draco, "You mean this is..." Draco only nodded, "It wasn't my intention to end up here, but I suppose that's what happens when you don't elaborate on your destinations as you plunge to your death." He shrugged looking at the floor, this house really needed some cleaning _pronto_. They both headed to the kitchen when a loud pop was heard besides them, they looked down and saw an old elf, "Kreacher, what a surprise seeing you again, do you need anything?" Draco asked softly looking at the old elf in question.

"Kreacher felt Master Black, come inside the house. Kreacher felt obligated to come to see if Master needed anything," the elder elf said looking at Sirius with a face full of disgust. Draco chuckled and kneeled down at patted Kreacher's head as he would with Nico, "We're fine thanks for coming here anyways how are you feeling? Walburga's portrait been bothering you again? I could take her off the wall if you'd like." Kreacher shook his head, "Kreacher just came to check in, now that Master doesn't need anything, Kreacher will leave." Draco sighed and nodded letting the elf disappear with another loud pop. He stood up again and turned to look at the shocked but annoyed Sirius, "Master Black, huh.." Sirius trailed off.

"Yep, surprise I'm related to you," Draco shook his hands in a jazz like motion. "Now that that's out of the way we should sit down and talk about what we'll do next now that you're free, maybe get you some food too, you look like a skeleton," Draco said looking through the cabinets to find some of the stashed food he had left here with date charms. "Alright, wait what do you mean 'next to do'?" Sirius asked looking at Draco in question but in slight edge. "Well, you're an innocent man that was send to prison on the worst place ever, that had a chance to be proven to be innocent but wasn't allowed too. Not to mention you're Harry Potter's godfather which makes my job so much easier," Draco shrugged as he found the ingredients to make a sandwich. "What 'job' what are you doing that Harry is a part of this? Do you plan on hurting him?" Sirius slightly raised his voice at the end, eyes wide as he looked at Draco in alarm.

"Gods, calm your tits my job is only to make sure that he doesn't die when he goes to Hogwarts. His secret body guard kinda, protecting him is my job too which is were you come in, my dear sir," Draco paused to push a sandwich to Sirius as he started in his own, "Dumbledore decided to have Harry go to his aunts place to live in, Petunia, I think that's her name. Anyways, her family treats him like shit just cause he has magic, and they're afraid of it. I want to get him somewhere safe were he won't be mistreated, I ended up in Azkaban by accident and found out you are innocent. So, I put decided to kill two birds with one stone and help you get custody of Harry while first proving that you're an innocent man. Of course since I basically jail break you, you can't run around outside doing what you please, so you'd have to stay here with Kreacher— don't look at me like that he can be nice when he wants to be, just treat him like he was a normal human being and you two will be good— I'll still have another elf be here so that you won't be that lonely. If you want I'll send letters to you and check up on you once in a while, still have to be at Hogwarts y'know? The way we can start now is by you telling me everything you know that happened the night... uh... Harry's parent were killed, so that I have an idea with what I could do."

Sirius froze midway of eating his sandwich but then sighed and lowered his food, he looked towards Draco and towards the kitchens window. "You sure talk a lot huh, kid... I... I suppose you're correct but before I say anything could you not interrupt me? Let me just get this out of my system, alright?" Draco nodded placing his own sandwich down to give Sirius his full attention.

"The real person that outed my friends to the dark lord was, Peter Pettigrew. I've made the mistake to trust him to be the Secret-Keeper to the location of where Lily and James would stay hidden during Lily's pregnancy. It would've been too obvious that I knew their location being so publicly known as family by many, so James and I decided to have Peter be the Secret-Keeper instead. We thought that if we had him take my place it would've been safer for Lily and Harry. We were wrong of course, Peter gave them away, and I only found out after I went to his house and found out that he was gone, he was supposed to be kidnapped by deatheaters, but his house showed no form of struggle. I went to James's place and sure enough...they were there...dead. Hagrid came and took Harry of to Petunia due to Dumbledore's orders, I gave him my motor cycle to travel back in... anyways, some days later I went after Peter. I was so filled with rage that I just wanted to go to him and harm him, make him tell me why did he betray us. He...he outsmarted me, took advantage of the fact that we were both surrounded by people and blamed me for their deaths. He proceeded to blast the street with a blasting curse, effectively killing twelve muggles while escaping in his Animagus form. The muggles that survived said that it was me who did it, that I attacked Peter in a fit of rage and proceeded to kill everyone for my own pleasure. They were already wiped out of the magical experience that they saw by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, so due to the fact that his finger was left in the scene, no one could see any flaw in what they said happened, and so I was sent to jail without a trial and left their to rot. I just wish I could somehow go back and just told Remus instead of Peter...maybe things would've been different...?" Sirius looked at his shackled wrists with glazed eyes, he looked so full of regret Draco wished he could just hug an comfort him.

Draco sighed and placed his hand on Sirius shoulder patting his shoulder shaking him out of his thoughts. "It's fine thank you for telling me this, I know what I asked brought up things that you didn't want to think about now..." Draco trailer of as he saw a tear hit Sirius's shackles, he wouldn't really be free if he was chained up... "Alohomora," he said pointing his wand at the shackles. Smiling as he heard them open and hit the ground with a small thumbing sound. "Much better, I'll get rid of those things for you. For now you can explore I'll get some cleaning supplies to get this house look better, can't live comfortable in a place that looks it belongs in a horror movie," Draco chuckled picking up the shackles from the ground and leaving Sirius in the kitchen, he needed his space for a while, and Draco didn't want to disturb him.

After he left the kitchen he placed his hand on the wall, keeping himself balanced as a wave of dizziness hit him, he shook it off, he couldn't rest here he still had to get to Hogwarts first. Draco went through the front door ignoring the picture of Walburga and left through the front door, throwing the shackles into a near dead bush as there wasn't any other place he could place the shackles in, he'll get them back later. He came back in and grabbed the familiar silver ring from his pocket, twisting it so that it could turn into his favorite dagger. Draco walked up towards the picture of Walburga and started to carve the painting out of the door, ignoring her yells at him to stop what he was doing. Her rants to him about Sirius when he was younger made him sure that Sirius wouldn't appreciate her being here. He didn't have the heart to burn her portrait as Kreacher still liked her, so he'll just place her in his old room. No one knew were that was thanks to his mother.

Draco climbed up the staircase heading towards the board up hall close to the family room when he noticed that the room where the family tree was opened. Was Sirius there? He shrugged and kept on walking when it hit him, could his adoption be seen via the family tree? Will Sirius be able to see his mothers name connected to his even if he was adopted? In slight panic he dropped the covered up painting and went into the room. There he saw Sirius looking at his face, mouth opened and pointing towards the place where Draco's masked face was. He tensed up, "Do you...want an explanation..?" He asked hesitantly, Sirius looked at him in disbelief. "'Do you want an explanation.' Of course, I want and explanation about this! I know that you broke me out of jail and will help me get both my innocence proven as well as having Harry's custody, and trust me I'm thankful for that but what is this? Why is your name connected to someone that has been dead for more than eighty years? How didn't I hear about you before? Merlin, how are you even alive?!" Sirius said in disbelief, throwing his arms in the air looking at Draco with confusion.

"Well uh... um... I do admit that yes my mother is long dead, and I should as well considering how long our family normally lives for. I know this might be a shocker to you, but I was... adopted by the Malfoy's or well Lucius and Narcissa, when they found out I was still alive they decided to find me. You see when my mother was born my grandparents didn't have any sons after her, only girls so the title of heir was given to her for being the oldest. When she had me she kept me around for a while before she forgot me in a casino in America. The casino has been previously cursed by someone obsessed with being able to spend time their and drink, so they cursed the casino. The curse made everyone inside be able to have fun for what seemed like a few hours or minutes while in the outside what seemed a little time inside was actually years in the outside world, so when she...forgot me... I was left there for a while until a house elf got me out, and the Malfoy's saw me... they took advantage that I was a child and took me in as their own, therefore adopting me into their family and well here we are."

Sirius continued to stare at Draco, "How could...how could your mother forget about you in there?" Draco looked away not looking at Sirius's face. He heard Sirius let out a small 'Oh' they were both quiet before Sirius laughed, "I guess we both have horrible mom's right." Draco chuckled then laughed, he blended down as he grabbed his sides, "Man this had been the second time I've ever told anyone of this. The Malfoy's want to keep the adoption a secret since the reason that the adoption even happened was one, Narcissa couldn't have any children and two, they couldn't get access to some of the accounts that they needed to get gold from due to me being a heir. I think they only found out about this room due to Walburga's portrait. My dear old mom must've sealed many places off from everyone in this house like, her room, my room, and this room I suppose since you didn't notice that before." Draco calmed down and took deep breaths as Sirius sat on one of the old chairs. "So," he said, "We should start planning something together now, maybe I'll show you the places mother dearest sealed off."

Sirius chuckled and nodded, "I would like that... grandpa." Draco flipped him off but sat down close to him anyways, it's time for deals to be made and plans to be thought.

He just hopes he doesn't regret opening up so quickly, _Sirius isn't like Luke, right?_

**Aaaaannnnddd done! Another chapter typed and another will be started. Happy late holidays, I really took a long vacation but it can't be helped. **

**Before anyone asks yes, Draco was indeed left by his mother in Lotus Hotel and Casino which is why he had a big suspicion of Bianca being out of time and actually knowing people from the hotel, when I mentioned that it wasn't referring to Percy's quest in LT but to himself and people he actually knew. The out of time Demi-gods he said when he was claimed wasn't referring to just Nico but to him as well. Hope this clarified some questions of why this happened out of the sudden and why was this this added since it doesn't really add anything. Trust me it does. (Hint Draco will suffer :D)**

**ughsheshere: Thank you! I'm glad you like it!**

**MorpheusYulia: It will, ;) **

**Thanks for reading see you in the next chapter, bye!**

**-D.**


	23. Nico Should Get A Credit Card

_Sirius chuckled and nodded, "I would like that... grandpa." Draco flipped him off but sat down close to him anyways, it's time for deals to be made and plans to be thought._

_He just hopes he doesn't regret opening up so quickly, Sirius isn't like Luke, right?_

**3rd Person P.O.V.**

Draco made his way through the woods. He was back in America looking for Nico, they were able to IM and decided where to look for each other, but it was quite difficult to be able to find such a tiny person that wears all black, in a dark misty forest that belongs to your average horror film.

Draco stopped as he saw some light against tree branches from afar, was Nico there or was it something else? He approached quietly, watching his every step to make sure he didn't step on any of the discarded branches in the ground. Quickly making his way towards the light he began to see more clearly.

There Nico stood talking to a —what he could see— ghostly being. Nico was talking to them in a hushed tone. At the side of Nico, there he had boxes of happy meals all stacked up evenly. That made Draco wonder if Nico was going to use them for something that didn't require feeding thy self. He purposely stepped on a branch next to him a loud CRUNCH alerted Nico.

Nico looked back at Draco and relaxed a bit when he recognized him, Draco just waved and happily made his way towards his brother. Looking more closely to the ghost he could tell he was an old soul from many centuries ago, the clothes and old aura made that clear, was this the ghost that Nico told him about through IM?

Nevertheless, he sat next to Nico and looked up towards the ghost in question, 'Who are you?' He asked in glowing floating letters, the ghost looked at the written Greek words and looked at him, then at Nico. "Does the boy not speak?" The ghost asked unimpressed, Nico looked at Draco with hidden concern in his eyes, "He... does...?"

Draco shrugged and signed, 'Just practicing some of the stuff I told you about. I'm trying to become an Animagus since I've recently found out how to do it. So far, it requires me to have a weird tasting leaf in my mouth for a whole month, and if I open my mouth it smells absolutely disgusting. 0/10 wouldn't recommend.' Nico nodded in understanding as he told him stories of some teachers that he low-key respected from his school. Nico knows about Professor McGonagall's ability to transform into a cat. Draco let him believe that it was because of a godly heritage and not anything supernatural like wizards and witches. Lady Hecate doesn't want any other gods from knowing of her little side experiments.

"Right... now that the boy is here we may begin with our sacrifice." So that's why Nico had all the food, Draco hoped that Nico will at least eat one happy meal, the boy was practically skin and bones. He looked tired as well.. maybe he could gift him one of those suitcases that were an actual living space. As well as his own credit card! He could forge Lucius and Narcissa's signatures to make Nico share his vault with him. He should have Nico have access to everything he owned as well, yes he should do that since he's family...

"We should start by digging the whole up to summon one of the souls that will come. With my sword we may be able to do a soul exchange and gain information."

'I'll raise the beings that will help us dig the grave, can you do the enchantment?' Draco singed towards Nico. Nico nodded and stepped away from Draco as he pulled off his gloves, immediately some of the well kept grass wilted around Draco's feet. He stepped around uncomfortable and raised his hand in front of him. He noticed Nico sparing glances at his hands. Draco couldn't blame him looking at them, his hands without the gloves looked like the Symbiote from Spider-Man 3 crawled and stayed at his hands, he would be scared too. He made himself relax as he felt a pull in his gut and some of the graves rumbled as skeletal hands pierced through the dirty, slowly making their way up until the skeletons stood. Spines hunched over and teared clothing covering their skeletal bodies, fashion that Draco could recognize from the early 1900s. "Grab the shovels and dig a deep whole for us, please," Nico said once he notice the skeletons looking at Draco in question.

They nodded and got into work. While the skeletons were working, Draco stood awkwardly as he stayed a good distance away from Nico. Shuffling from foot-to-foot, he played with the hem of his camp necklace as he counted the beads and twirled them to entertain himself with something. Nico broke the silence by getting up from the tombstone he was laying on.

"I'll go start a fire, I'll be back." Nico went into the woods, Draco kept his gaze until he could no longer see Nico. He turned around towards the ghost, 'Who are you?' He wrote into the ground with his blade, he then cleared his throat to gain the ghost's attention. The ghost turned around a raised and eyebrow, Draco points at the words written in the ground. The ghost sights but reads the question.

"Don't worry about that kid, I'm just here to guide your brother."

Draco stares at the ghost and writes again, 'You do realize that because I'm a child of Hades, I could order you to tell me who you are right?' He ghost reads that and stares back at him.

"..."

"You're a very bothersome little brat. I hope you now that."

He shrugged, 'Heard worse but okay.'

Draco cleared his throat again and covered his mouth a bit, "I, as a child of Hades, demand you to state your name." Draco contained a gag towards the rancid smell that came out as he opened his mouth. He was determined to know this ghost's intentions towards his brother. He didn't know why, but the ghost gave him bad vibes, and he didn't like it. The ghost shut his mouth tightly, even as a spirit you could see his muscles tensing as he tried to disobey the order given to him. Finally the ghost spoke, "I'm The Ghost King, Minos. I'm here to...guide your brother." Draco took note of the slight pause when Minos spoke, calculated words as if he was under Veritaserum.

Yes, he was suspicious as fuck thanks for asking. He knew that the ghost would try to keep him from knowing the whole truth, so he let it go. 'Alright then.'

On cue Nico came with a stack of sticks on his arms, Draco helped him set them in place and lit the makeshift fire place with a snap of his fingers. As Nico said the enchantment Draco fiddled with the straps of his dark hoodie, he pulled one strand up and down to keep him occupied. He stared at Nico and then at the ghost he summoned, Theseus, he heard legends of the guy, Chiron used to tell the old campers stories about him during the campfire. He only remembers bits and pieces of that since if happened when he recently arrived at the camp. Theseus gave Nico some words of advice before vanishing, Draco saw that Nico was upset with what he was told and offered to invite him to eat somewhere he liked.

"I want to try Burger King but I want McDonald's chicken nuggets," Nico said but was unsure if Draco wanted to go to both places and would just make him choose one place. Draco nodded, 'Let's go then, I have no idea when they close, and I'm too fucking hungry to not eat anything today.' With a small smile Nico followed Draco through the woods, halfway out the woods Draco looked at Minos and signed, 'I ain't buying shit for you, you can starve for all I care, rat.' The ghost flipped him off and flew to Nico's side. Nico gave him a raised brow where he shrugged innocently and asked him more about his favorite card game.

Draco went through the crowded streets of Manhattan, holding Nico's shoulder as he pushed him towards the hidden Wizard Bank in America. Once he pushed Nico into an alley way grabbed Nico and placed him on his shoulder then ran straight to a brick wall. Nico yelled in alarm as he was grabbed and placed down again like nothing. Going to yell at Draco he stopped, Draco grinned behind his mask and placed it to his side so that Nico still couldn't see his face. Placing on a glamour, he placed his mask on his hoodies pocket and ruffled his now black hair. 'Come on, I still have to buy you some stuff from here before we go eat.'

They continued towards their destination and soon they were here, The Wizards Bank of The United States of America. He entered and breathed in the fresh air of mint, people were silent as the bank tellers helped them with their needs or brought them to their cubicles to talk about plans and options they had. Draco made his way towards a line and told Nico to stay seated on the red sofas as he did the paper work for him, he even passed him a random rubix cube for him to try to keep him occupied. Walking towards a line and staying there until it was his turn, 'Good evening, I'm here to open another vault for a relative under my family name.' The women, Jessica, he read smiled at him and asked for his name. 'Draconis Felicis Black.' She swinger her wand and wordlessly explained to him where he had to sign and under whose name he would open a vault for. He wrote Nico Di Angelo and write his brothers birthday, January 28, 2000, and signed the other necessary forms under his name.

He had previously opened a vault here some few years ago, Draco was able to link it to his personal account back in Scotland without having to alert Lucius and Narcissa about it. How he did it, easy he forged their signatures and got away with it, they won't know about that till this day and years to come. Jessica told him to wait in the waiting room as they got his credit card ready. Going back to Nico he could see that he had already solved the rubix cube puzzle and was now looking down at his shoes. He touched his shoulder as he sat down, 'It's almost done, we just need to wait for them to finish making the card and we're good to go. I'll go buy some stuff I think you'll need stay here, I'll be back before you know it!' He signed and he passed another wood puzzle to Nico before he could say anything.

Draco jogged his way to the nearby store that seller magical suitcases, going through the aisles as he found the perfect one. A suitcase that had both a protection charm and was bewitched by an Undetectable Extension Charm. Grabbing the suitcase he went upfront the store and placed the case down, 'I would like to buy this one please.' The cashier looked at him with a stink eye but smiled a smiled so fake, he almost winced. Passing his own credit card he grabbed from his wallet he gave it to the old man and placed in the pin needed for payment. Once it was done he grabbed the suitcase and placed a temporary charm that made it smaller. He fast paced back towards the bank and went back towards Nico, "Done?" Nico asked grumpily at being alone at such an unknown place.

Draco nodded, both stood up and went back to their quest of controlling their hunger.

**Annnnnnnnddd done! I'm glad I was finally able to finish this. Now that I'm back let me apologize for being so slow to update, many things came up in my life that made me discouraged to write in my free time, but now things controlled a little bit. So, I'll try to go back to a decent schedule after I'm able to move to a new house (yeah I'm moving at a time like this ,))**

**Hope everyone is doing great cause now I have important things to address, right now in America shit is going down and it was not pretty, I understand that many people started to go back to Wattpad to get away from the real wild but this is just a reminder that there's still injustice in the system and that, we as generation z, should continue to fight and demand justice for those who where murdered cold blooded by dirty cops.**

**Here are links to petitions you can sign:**

**http/chng.it/Cn2Ps4Kk**

**http/chng.it/MGXn2Kdn**

**http/chng.it/J5WZWYyf**

**http/chng.it/4Vc4chgy**

**YouTube videos that are used as fundings:**

**https/youtu.be/8yaB1gHJnGc**

**https/youtu.be/Ixwshn_Ix-g**

**https/youtu.be/H230RUNzfk8**

**https/youtu.be/DAZgTNBLSLA**

**Small gentle reminder that Brianna Taylor's and Elijah Mclain's murders haven't been arrested yet. If your more interested in information, I'm mostly active on my Instagram account, it's the same username as here and it's my personal art account, please check the stories I post to see information and other things related. Don't really look into my stuff since people I know follow me, and I'm not comfortable with them knowing about this fanfic, that's probably all for now.**

**Oh, right this is how Draco's hand kinda look when he uses his demigod powers: https/pin.it/3v7OGrJ**

**Also since JKR is being a transphobic bitch, which character do y'all wish or head canon to be transgender? Just to spite her hehe.**

**Now I want everyone to stay safe, keep wearing masks, and have a great rest of the year. I know you can all do wonderful things even with this conditions, I love and appreciate all the comments and reads you gave this book. Thank you! (And no I'm not giving up on this, I will finish it so don't worry about that :P)**

**See you in the next chapter bye!**

**-D.**


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